Tell Me a Riddle (1930)

About this item

This book, "Tell Me a Riddle", is a highly-praised collection of four short stories by Tillie Olsen, a key author and formative voice in the feminist movement of the late 1960s and 70s. The title novella won the O. Henry Award in 1961. The four stories are: "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, what Ship?," "O Yes," and "Tell me a Riddle." Typical of Olsen's writings, the stories in this volume chronicle the lives of working class families, particularly the women, and their search for self-fulfillment. The title story, Tell Me a Riddle, recounts the efforts of a dying grandmother to make sense of her life, as she is surrounded by the family for whom she has sacrificed all her own hopes and dreams. "I Stand Here Ironing" examines on a mother's internal conflict and profound sadness over her realization that her daughter will have to endure an unfulfilled life -- as the mother has -- due in large part to the trials and failures the mother encountered raising her daughter. **