Description
Book SynopsisIn present-day Southern California, a diverse group of characters seeks the fulfillment and connection this sunny state has always promised. They come with hopes for a better lifestyle, for a change of perspective, or for the dry, mild West Coast weather. A couple moves to Palm Desert from New York for the arid, warm climate a doctor prescribes and they manage both illness and homesickness. The woman makes an unlikely friend in a young albino boy who teaches her a harsh lesson about the margin for cruelty that resides in us all. A young Mexican woman migrates to California and marries an American man—only to be deserted. A young man is disqualified from the Naval Aeronautical program and returns to his sister’s home, where he struggles with his identity and sexuality. After years of estrangement, a teenage girl travels to California from New York to spend the summer with her father. Between each of the thirteen stories in this collection are interspersed several “snapshot” stories—poetic pauses—that blend a set of images into an artistic visual unit, much like a brief cinematic experience. Every character in this collection is distinct from the next, but all of their stories unfold under the glare of the same Southern California sun—a western desert light so clear and unfiltered that it reveals everything.
Trade Review2022 Global Book Awards Finalist in Short Stories
2022 Firebird Book Awards First Place Winner in New Adult Fiction
2022 Firebird Book Awards Second Place Winner in New Fiction (first time published)
2022 International Book Awards Winner in Fiction: Short Story
2022 IPPY Awards Silver Winner in West-Pacific (Best Regional Fiction)
2021 American Fiction Awards Winner in Best Cover Design: Adult Fiction
2021 American Fiction Awards Finalist in Short Story Fiction“A beautifully rendered collection from a writer to watch.”
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Kirkus Reviews“As its subtitle suggests, these are all California stories, but Linda Feyder’s debut collection covers a great deal of ground. She has a first-rate ear, a noticing eye, and a wide-ranging sympathy; this is a book to savor and a very welcome new voice.”
—Nicholas Delbanco, author of
It is Enough and
Why Writing Matters“Linda Feyder is a remarkably attentive and subtle storyteller whose understanding of her characters allows her to honor their complexity in a few deft and graceful strokes. Like all good writers—Alice Munro comes to mind—her sociological insights are embedded rather than spelled out, and that makes her wide view very satisfying.”
—Rosellen Brown, author of
Before and After and
Half a Heart
