LOVE STORIES IN THIS TOWN
From a cabin in Maine to a comedy club in Manhattan; from a diner in Montana to a raft rushing through the Grand Canyon, acclaimed author Amanda Eyre Ward brings us twelve stories about love in all of its complexity, absurdity, and glory with Love Stories in This Town.
On the banks of Messalonskee Lake, a family tragedy forces Bill and Lizzy to take a hard look at their own lives. Casey, a suburban New Yorker with a wry sense of humor, braves the dating scene after losing her husband. Annie, a librarian in a small mining town, must choose between the only home she's ever known and the possibility of a new life. In San Francisco and Houston and Savannah, Ward's characters search for the place where they truly belong. And in six dazzling stories spanning a decade of her life, Lola Wilkerson mends a broken heart and then meets Emmett Chase.
In stories as evocative as they are striking, Amanda Eyre Ward once again proves herself an astute interpreter of emotions both familiar and strange. Whether exploring the fierceness of a mother's love or the consolations of marriage, Ward's stories are imbued with humor, clear-eyed insight, and emotional richness.
REVIEWS
“Ward's powerful first collection (after three novels) travels from Montana to Saudi Arabia, tackling love, terrorism and grave matters of the heart ... The way Ward balances ruefulness and hope is singularly impressive.”
— Publisher's Weekly
“A mesmerizing, read-in-one-sitting foray into the complexities of contemporary love.”
— Booklist
“In her first collection, novelist Ward gently and discreetly invites us into her characters' lives ... Luminous work from a gifted writer.”