Description
Book Synopsis“Relentlessly observant, miraculously expressive, these [stories] see through the mirrored surface into a hidden yet strangely intimate world.” —
New York Times Book ReviewTrade Review"Remarkable by any measure, but all the more considering that this is Slouka’s debut…On nearly every page sentences approach the lyricism and rigor of observation of an Elizabeth Bishop poem." -- Boston Book Review
"[
Lost Lake] shows us how rich a life can be if one can feel, listen, observe and understand." -- Chicago Tribune
"Slouka flashes forward and back in time with astonishing alacrity and skill." -- The Oregonian
"Dazzling…A work of extraordinary intelligence and sensitivity." -- St. Petersburg Times
"Sensual, elegiac nature writing and complex, full-bodied stories." -- San Jose Mercury News
"Mr. Slouka is an important writer, and [
Lost Lake] is, quite simply, wonderful." -- Dallas Morning News
"So rich and affecting that it incorporates all kinds of influences while remaining singular and quite unforgettable." -- Outside
"I love this artistically brave book. In his longer stories, Slouka paints large canvases of time, death, love, nature, longing, and humor. I am happily astonished by these sensuous, mystical, wise, romantic, and passionate stories, whose cadences and arches remind me of Faulkner. And it’s the best writing about water I’ve read since
A River Runs Through It." -- Andre Dubus III
"A beautifully written, precisely seen series of stories about fathers, death, exile, sex, and fishing. Each of them seems to contain a world. Together they make a picture of the emotional lives of men—who they are, and how they got to be that way. Dark territory, illuminated." -- Kevin Canty
"I have never been so moved as I was reading this elegant and frankly poetic collection of stories…[T]he hallmark of a really fine short story is that in its abbreviated space it nonetheless manages to contain everything. Certainly this is true for Mark Slouka, who holds life up to his jeweler’s eyepiece and shares with us his amazing vision." -- Elizabeth Berg
