Book cover of Valleyesque: Stories

Book description

No one captures the border-its history and imagination, its danger, contradiction, and redemption-like Fernando A. Flores, whose stories reimagine and reinterpret the region's existence with peerless style. In his immersive, uncanny borderland, things are never what they seem: a world where the sun is both rising and setting, and where…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Valleyesque as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’ve been a fan of Fernando A. Flores for a while, since—from off a table at a bookstore and based entirely on the title—I picked up a copy of his Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas, because how could I not? Yet somehow, I missed when his latest book, Valleyesque, came out in 2022. Hence why these stories about a bee wrangler who loses his mother, violence in a border town not too close to the border, and Lee Harvey Oswald’s band are in a list of my favorites reads in 2024.

Each story in Valleyesque offers…

These stories are all surreal, trippy, and many are quite funny. Sort of a mashup of Márquez, Burroughs, and Bukowski, trying to pin down Flores’ actual style is difficult as it is wholly unique: the ultimate compliment for a writer. One story is about a couple who make a sculpture of a baby using their ear wax while the male partner is a writer who also is paid to be a life coach to other writers of lesser talent. Another story is about two men who are neighbors, one of which owns an extraterrestrial shape-shifting cloth, the other is a…

From Scott's list on surreal, bizarro, funny fiction fix.

If you love Valleyesque...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Valleyesque?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 95 books like Valleyesque.

Browse books like Valleyesque

Book cover of Nothing to See Here
Book cover of Everything Is Totally Fine
Book cover of Delivering Virtue

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Valleyesque, you might also like...

Book cover of Deadly Revenge

Deadly Revenge by Patricia Bradley,

Deputy Jenna Hart has only been working in her sleepy hometown of Pearl Springs for seven months when city officials begin to be targeted by a killer. Twenty years ago, the construction of a dam caused people to lose their land to eminent domain. That wound has not healed with…

Book cover of The Duty of Memory

The Duty of Memory by Vicki Olsen,

Separating the true stories from the myths, The Duty of Memory provides a deeper understanding of the diverse motivations that drove ordinary people to join an underground network of French Resistants despite terrible odds and horrifying consequences.

This book takes the reader inside the true story of men and women…

5 book lists we think you will like!