by David Means
First published 2006
A goldfish swims in circles in its bowl, forgotten as the family around it dissolves into divorce proceedings. The fish refuses to die despite the neglect, clinging to life with stubborn determination. Nearby in Michigan, a man walks through storms knowing lightning will find him again. In a peat bog, a fossilized corpse speaks about being dug up from the earth. Bumbling robbers plan their next failed heist. Awkward lovers fumble toward connection. A pianist sits at his instrument, unable to make his fingers work. These broken characters populate David Means' stories, each struggling with their own particular curse or limitation. The harsh Michigan landscape mirrors their internal weather as they navigate small disasters and quiet desperation. Yet beneath their failures lies something more persistent, an ability to dream beyond their circumstances. These misfits and outcasts reveal the strange poetry hidden in ordinary American life.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: broken-characters, quiet-desperation, redemption
Setting: Michigan
Period: 21st-century
240 pages · Paperback · Gallimard