The Sacred Family (Electric Literature's Recommended Reading)

Rachel Kushner's haunting and provocative story, "The Sacred Family," follows G. Hauser, a teacher in a women's prison, as he vacations in Barcelona. As he explores famous tourist destinations, Hauser is reminded of one of his students, a young woman named Diana, and the circumstances that led to her imprisonment. Within the prison, it "was considered impolite to wonder what someone had done," and yet the urge to ask reveals "a curiosity for truth." The concept of truth and of faith fuels the story. Kushner characterizes Hauser as one who "considered God a not-there"—and yet, one of the story's main strengths is its ability to complicate Hauser's self-identification and his beliefs. In his introduction, Antonio Aiello praises Kushner for tackling "the contradictions of God, faith, and the power structures that give and take away freedom and mercy."