From the American Midwest to Finland to the coast of Africa, Caitlin Horrocks explores the dilemmas of wives, mothers, daughters, lovers, and strangers who cut imperfect paths to peace and escape. In personal worlds gone awry, they have no other choice. A Russian mail-order bride is rendered silent by her dislocation and loss of language; a subversively sadistic biology teacher takes advantage of pupil's unease; on a cruise ship held hostage by Somali pirates, the mother of a severely disabled boy writes him postcards he'll never read; crime and conscience collide for a professional dog-napper heartened by her loveable new catch; a girl is plagued by unforgiving memories of a cruel game she played on a classmate years ago; and an Iowa actuary wanders among the reincarnations of those she's known in her 127 lives.
"…deploys love and humor as convincingly as dread…"
The New York Times
"…refreshing takes on old themes: childhood meanness, the effects of devastating illness, the desire for a better life, misunderstandings between parents and their children, [and] looking for love in all the wrong places…"
