Book cover of The Consequences

Book description

Winner of the 2023 Joyce Carol Oates Prize
Finalist for the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize
Finalist for the 2023 Balcones Prize for Fiction
Longlisted for the 2022 Story Prize

Shimmering stories set in California’s Central Valley, the first book in a decade from a virtuoso story writer.

“Her immediate…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Consequences as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A solid collection of short stories, the characters and stories of this book have lingered with me in the months since I read it. From spooked farm workers who gossip about a death in the field, to families trying to stick together when larger forces take them apart, the book covers a wide range of experiences that may otherwise be unexamined. The entire collection is also subtly woven together so that they can be read as standalones or as a novel-in-stories.

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Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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