News
The latest updates.
Refund is a NYTBR Editor’s Choice
27 Mar 2015“Refund” is New York Times Book Review “Editor’s Choice.” for the March 29 issue.
New York Times Book Review reviews “Refund”
20 Mar 2015“Money is ostensibly the fuel that powers Karen E. Bender’s new collection “Refund”…but Bender’s subtler preoccupation is the eroding effect of emotional want…Bender understands worlds about marriage and emotional need.” You can read the whole review here.
Live from Prairie Lights!
20 Mar 2015My reading on March 4 at Iowa City’s wonderful Prairie Lights bookstore is posted here.
Refund is listed in The Week magazine
25 Feb 2015Refund is included in The Week magazine, noted among books exploring the “power of money.” 
Refund is an LA Times bestseller!
25 Feb 2015Refund is number 5 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list for the week of February 15th. The list is here.
Los Angeles Times reviews Refund
23 Jan 2015Meredith Maran writes in the Los Angeles Times: “Each of the “Refund” stories is an impeccably constructed miniature, a ship in a bottle that makes the reader wonder how the author got all that detail, all that craft, into such a small container. Taken as a whole, the collection is a 13-stop journey into some richly imagined worlds…Bender’s willingness to go deep, to burrow down into what’s right and wrong about 21st century America and Americans is a mirror that draws us in and does not allow us to look away.” You can read the whole review here.
Miami Herald reviews Refund
23 Jan 2015In the Miami Herald, Laura Allbriton writes: “In the 13 electrifying tales of Refund, she examines the themes of wealth and poverty, health and disease, and the suddenness with which our lives can change — or even end….Bender ends on notes of hope and despair: hope because one is still loved and can love, despair at a life fraught with worry and disappointment. The author’s sharp observations and fine, crisp writing keep these stories crackling with energy and wit, while they excavate the buried secrets of 21st century America.” You can read the rest of the review here.
Chicago Tribune reviews Refund
22 Jan 2015“The tales told in Karen Bender’s “Refund,” a collection of stories that centers on money and family, are exquisitely composed portraits of modern life, and chances are you will encounter characters that remind you a little or a lot of yourself. That’s the brilliance of Bender’s storytelling….Bender’s ability to transform observations of life into uncomfortably realistic stories cannot be denied.” You can read the whole review here.
Mirabile Dictu blog reviews Refund: “An extraordinary collection”
20 Jan 2015The blog Mirabile Dictu says: “The theme of money unifies Karen E. Bender’s extraordinary new collection of short stories, Refund…Bender’s style is forceful but simple as she shares her ironic, compassionate insights into money, security and family life.” You can read the whole review here.
The Billfold reviews Refund
18 Jan 2015The Billfold says: “Bender’s evocative prose takes us immediately to a place that we recognize, even if we haven’t yet lived there ourselves…I loved Refund. Highly recommended.” You can read the full review here.
The Boston Globe reviews Refund
14 Jan 2015The Boston Globe says: “The stories are replete with poignant, tragic moments…her graceful and sensitive treatment of her characters reminds us that in difficult times, it’s important to remember that everyone is fighting a hard battle.” You can read the rest of the review here.
Publisher’s Weekly Picks: Books of the Week
10 Jan 2015For the week of January 12, 2015, Refund is a PW Picks: Books of the Week.
Booklist reviews Refund
07 Jan 2015Booklist says: “Bender’s tales are stark, heart-wrenching, quirky….but they all work together, as Bender leads us to a unifying conclusion: you can’t put a price on human life or love.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution previews Refund
04 Jan 2015In a preview of Southern books in 2015, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says, “Money–how to obtain it, give it, earn it, lose it, even steal it–unites the stories in this masterful new collection. Bender (A Town of Empty Rooms) takes ripped-from-the-headlines subjects (9/11, foreclosures, autism, a school shooting) to show ordinary people in the process of making extraordinary decisions.”
People magazine reviews Refund!
02 Jan 2015People magazine says: “Bender probes the depths people will sink to for love and money in this poignant, absorbing collection of finance-themed tales. Worth investing time in.”