Description
Book SynopsisFrom Jess Walter, the bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins, comes We Live in Water - a darkly funny, utterly compelling collection of stories about the American family.
We Live in Water brings to vivid life a world of lost fathers and redemptive con men, of personal struggles and diminished dreams, a world marked by the wry wit and generosity of spirit that has made Jess Walter one of America''s most talked-about writers.
In ''Thief'', a blue-collar worker turns unlikely detective to find out which of his kids is stealing from the family vacation fund. In ''We Live in Water'', a lawyer returns to a corrupt North Idaho town to find the father who disappeared thirty years earlier. In ''Anything Helps'', a homeless man has to ''go to cardboard'' to raise enough money to buy his son the new Harry Potter book. In ''Virgo'', a local newspaper editor tries to get back at his superstitious ex-girlfriend by screwing with her horoscope. The final story tr
Trade Review
These stories are very, very good. If you like to read, you'll like this book * Publishers Weekly *
A witty and sobering snapshot of recession-era America * Kirkus Reviews *
Wildly entertaining and thought-provoking * Booklist *
A genius of the modern American movement * Philadelphia Inquirer *
Jess Walter has impressive command of the short story...Since 13 stories should be plenty for a collection, maybe the best compliment we might pay the author is to object that this book is too short -- Lionel Shriver * Financial Times *
A more expansive, wittier Raymond Carver * Metro *
One for the hols * Sunday Times Style *
Clever, original and a little dark * Grazia *
There's no sudden resolution, but there's enough wit to help you get through the messy bits * Shortlist *
A collection of punchy stories . . . Sold and sold * Esquire *
Darkly amusing . . . Suffused with caustic wit, quirky descriptions and sharp details. We Live In Water never falls short of being highly engaging * Sunday Times *
