First published 2011
Abbott scrapes vomited raspberries from his two-year-old daughter's car seat on a late June morning. His pregnant wife suffers from insomnia. Their dog cowers in terror at everyday sounds. The basement floods, the refrigerator breaks, and urine soaks into the carpet. A snake appears in their woodpile. Abbott teaches at a university but spends his summer break wrestling with domestic chaos. He forgets sunblock, dresses his daughter in winter clothes during hot weather, and clips the dog's nails while contemplating evolutionary biology. Furniture shopping trips with his wife end in failure. Each mundane task triggers philosophical reflections about time, altruism, and human nature. Abbott faces a crushing paradox: he would change nothing about his life, yet he cannot stand living it. He struggles against the fear that he fails as both parent and person. The ordinary moments pile up into something larger as Abbott endures the simultaneous beauty and despair of each day.
Genres: domestic-fiction, family-life, contemporary, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: ordinary-moments, slice-of-life
Period: Late June
192 pages · Paperback · LSU Press