First published 2018
A father grapples with his daughter's confession in "A Father's Story," weighing love against conscience. In "Killings," Matt Fowler confronts the man who murdered his son, revenge pulling him toward a choice that will reshape everything he believes about justice. "The Pretty Girl" follows a woman whose beauty becomes both blessing and curse. Anna and Wayne steal not for money but for something deeper in "Anna," their success only complicating their lives further. In "Townies," a campus security guard discovers a murdered college student, connecting him unexpectedly to her killer through their shared exclusion from her privileged world. These stories center on working-class characters who find themselves at moral breaking points, where family loyalty, desire, and survival force impossible decisions. Dubus writes about people who live paycheck to paycheck but dream beyond their circumstances, whose hearts lead them into territory they never expected to navigate.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: moral-dilemma, redemption
424 pages · Paperback · David R. Godine, Publisher
Content warnings: death