First published 2006
In "The Bastards of Thanos," a dying poet confronts his illegitimate son and sees his greatest work reflected back at him. Polish icemen face destruction with the dignity of tragic heroes in "The Passing of the Ice." A woman glimpses love inside a harsh institution in "The Song of Rhodanthe." A wife beater learns his spouse is younger, stronger, and more vengeful than he ever imagined in "The Journal of a Wife Beater." And in "Song of Songs," a married couple's quiet existence explodes when Blossom opens her lingerie shop on their street, forcing them to confront erotic truths about each other. These characters live as neighbors, workers, lovers in what seem like ordinary circumstances. Petrakis reveals how each life contains its own miracles, how every person's journey from birth to death holds unique meaning. The stories move from comedy to tragedy, from desire to death, always finding the extraordinary hidden within the everyday.
Genres: short-stories, american-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, slice-of-life
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Ravenswood Books
Content warnings: domestic-violence, physical-abuse