A Catalogue of Everything in the World

the long version

A Catalogue of Everything in the World, winner of the 2008 St. Lawrence Book Award, is an allegory of identity: characters' entwined experiences share an undercurrent of uncertainty, of self-exploration; a sentiment that Renfro adeptly mirrors with the geographical particularities of Nebraska, a place at once undefined and yet subtly representative of the world's infinite catalogued people and circumstances. It's this dichotomy of life and understanding--an elderly widow grappling with time; a young woman trying to tame a confusing, inchoate love; a displaced Californian searching for belonging--that Renfro weaves so beautifully throughout these stories, each more incisive and imaginative than the last.