In Gabby Hyman's new collection of short stories, characters seek comfort from the raw edges of life, often trading one obsession for another. Meet the New York editor who drives north to escape his cooking. An old florist turns to racism to mask the embarrassment of his sexual failures. An Alaskan man will try anything for warmth through the frozen, endless night. Two women in Seattle cope with a Christmas suicide. An English teacher hopes that his new Japanese girlfriend can cure his chronic dishonesty. A Southerner conspires in silence with a friend's brutality. In California wine country, a salesman confronts his prejudice against new age healers -- as his companion's health irrevocably falters.
These eight stories cast light into dim rooms where people grope for balance and dignity.
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