First published 1997
Randall Kenan returns readers to the imaginary town of Tims Creek, North Carolina, in this collection of interconnected stories. The residents navigate questions of sexuality, race, and place in the rural South. A young man grapples with his identity while visiting family. An elderly woman confronts changes in her longtime community. Neighbors struggle with acceptance and rejection across generational and cultural divides. Each character searches for connection in a world that often feels hostile to difference. Kenan writes with precision about small-town dynamics and the weight of history on individual lives. The stories reveal how people create meaning and find grace in unexpected places.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, american-fiction, african-american, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, small-town
Setting: North Carolina, Tims Creek
Period: 21st-century
1 pages · Hardcover · Twin Palms Publishers