The Thin Place -- Kathryn Davis

Remember Harriet M. Welsch's game Town?  She would come up with an entire town -- the layout, the families, their occupations, hobbies, etc. -- and then she'd make up stories about them all. 

The Thin Place was kind of like a game of Town, but written by a (mostly) kinder, gentler Kelly Link.  Or maybe David Mitchell.  The focus shifts from person to person -- from young Mees, who has the power to restore life but lacks the power to choose who to bring back, to a threatened family of beavers, to a 92-year-old firecracker of a woman in a nursing home (Helen, not Marjory):

Tentative and bold and, as usual, without knocking, Marjory Mason had once again managed to slip into Helen's room like she was made of ectoplasm.  You could pretend you hadn't noticed Marjory for only so long before she stood right in front of you -- visibly sensitive to the fact that you were visually impaired.  Even if you were blind as a bat, you'd know she was there, because she stood way too close and spit on you when she talked.

The story moves backwards and forwards in time.  It's quietly surreal.  It's also an odd little celebration of life.  It will be a good one to re-read.

I'll be reading more Kathryn Davis, and soon.