'A searing and timely portrait of America today' - novelist Donna Hemans
Twenty years have passed since smart, affable, Ivy League-bound Joe Willis was shot and killed in the bedroom of his white girlfriend. Now, his friend Cassie is back in their home town, along with his sister, Jess, and his then girlfriend, Aggie. What will they learn about his death as racial strife rocks their small New England city?
The Same Country is a powerful and thought-provoking story about family, friendship and the risks we take to unravel the truth.
‘A romance, a detective story, and a coming-of-age novel all at once’ – USA Today critic Gene Seymour
‘The heart thrums with each sentence – a truly thrilling read’ – Eric Ngalle Charles
Winner of
Ploughshares’
John C. Zacharis Award
The stories in this collection circle around women who are either literally missing – a mother in rehab, a daughter never born – or who are missing some metaphorical piece of themselves. A father tries to convince his uncompromising, anorexic daughter to want to live, a single woman lures men to her bed only to abandon them, and marriage is shaken by a search party for a woman who’s disappeared. How does one balance safety with adventure? Dreams with practicality? Grief with joy?
‘Beautiful, memorable stories, artfully nuanced, boldly honest…’ – novelist Joanna Scott
‘…delicately-faceted observations of those precise moments upon which a life hinges’ – Ladette Randolph,
Ploughshares editor
Anyone who thinks all writers dip from the same stewpot should read 'Off the Page'
- C. Michael Curtis, The Atlantic Monthly
In Off the Page, today’s best writers give insight into their writing process. Paul Auster, Gish Jen, Anthony Doerr, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Colm Tóibín are among forty-three writers Carole Burns interviewed, and she weaves their wisdom into chapters illuminating to the writer and reader.
Here is Walter Mosley defying genre, Martin Amis on sex and Michael Cunningham on compassion. This and more from Alice McDermott, Margot Livesey, Charles Baxter and Hannah Tinti will deepen the reader’s appreciation for the art of fiction and excite writers to try new approaches to their craft.
‘Whether or not you’re familiar with the books that result from such struggles, this is a fascinating and enjoyable read’ – Financial Times
‘…(in) this intriguing book… all agree on one thing: writing and rewriting is never easy’ – the Guardian