We Live in Water: Stories

We Live in Water: Stories

<p><strong>From <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author Jess Walter, now available in paperback-the first collection of short fiction from Jess Walter-a suite of diverse and searching stories about personal struggle and diminished dreams, all of them marked by the wry wit, keen eye, and generosity of spirit that has made him a bookseller and reader favorite</strong></p><p>The first collection of short fiction from Jess Walter, <em>New York Times </em>bestselling author of <em>Beautiful Ruins</em>, <em>We Live in Water</em> is a diverse suite of stories marked by the wry wit and generosity of spirit that has made him one of America's most talked-about writers.</p><p>Stories in<em> We Live in Water </em>range from comic tales of love to social satire and suspenseful crime fiction. Traveling from hip Portland to once-hip Seattle to never-hip Spokane, to a condemned casino in Las Vegas and a bottomless lake in the dark woods of Idaho, this is a world of lost fathers and redemptive con men, of personal struggles and diminished dreams.</p><p>In title story “We Live in Water", a lawyer returns to his corrupt hometown to find his father, who disappeared 30 years earlier. In “Thief," a blue-collar worker turns unlikely detective to find out which of his kids is stealing from the family fund.</p><p>“Anything Helps" sees a homeless man try to raise money to buy his son the new Harry Potter book; and in “Virgo," a newspaper editor attempts to get back at his superstitious ex-girlfriend by screwing with her horoscope.</p><p>Also included are “Don't Eat Cat" and “Statistical Abstract of My Hometown, Spokane, Washington," both of which achieved cult status after their first publication online.</p>