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Synopsis
Love, death, humor, and the glue called family are the elements of this sometimes intense, often funny collection of short stories. As novelist David Scott Milton explains, "In this collection, Christopher Meeks examines the small heartbreaks of quiet despair that are so much a part of all our lives. He does it in language that is resonant, poetic, and precise.... If you like Raymond Carver, you'll love Meeks. He may be as good--or better." In one narrative, a man wakes up one morning to find the odor of dead fish won't go away, but no one else can smell it. In another, a couple's visit with friends to watch the Academy Awards has the protagonist envying his friends' lawn and lifestyle. In these and eleven other stories, Christopher Meeks balances tragedy and wit. Most of the pieces have been previously published in such award-winning journals as Rosebud, the Clackamas Literary Review, and the Southern California Anthology.
Special to The Times, January 2, 2006 - Carmela Ciuraru
"IN 13 stories, Christopher Meeks probes relentlessly at the mundane and unexceptional: lives filled more with tedium and tragedy than happiness; lives in which encounters with good luck are few and far between. "The Middle-Aged Man & the Sea" still manages to honor those lives, treating them with the dignity and introspection they deserve. ..No matter how difficult or heavy the burden depicted, these stories end on a note of resilience. Meeks' characters might feel melancholy and trapped in their lives, but the reader senses that they refuse to give up, always hoping the next day will bring something better. "