"All of these random memories sped through Elle's brain like minnows through a warm shallow, each jot of recollection a tiny fish, living for just a few seconds before gobbled by some larger, more predatory entity—the rattle of the stove as it demanded more cedar or the rumble in her empty stomach."

Stillpoint tells the story of a single day in the life of an older woman living alone with her books and memories in a small New Mexico town. A widow, Elle fills her days with work—translating the poems of the great Italian romantic Giacomo Leopardi—and with reflecting on her life as a daughter, a wife, and a mother. How, Elle wonders, do we put into words the truths of our life; how do we find peace in solitude?