by Andrew Porter (2010)
These ten stories take us across the country - from rural Pennsylvania to suburban Connecticut - and deep into characters struggling to find meaning in the day-to-day lives. The stories offer a stunningly astute vision of contemporary American suburbia, full of tension, heartbreak and emotional complexity.
David Teague
"Once upon a time, high atop the world, there lived a boy named Billy Hightower and the wind. When a new neighbor appears--a girl in a red hat--Billy Hightower can hardly wait to meet her and introduce himself. But the wind has other ideas"--
written and
Forgetful Bradley finally forgets something very important and realizes that he must find a way to avoid the "Vortex of Distraction."
Hannah Alexander
"Dr. Lukas Bower believes in God, the Hippocratic Oath and doing the right thing. Lukas won't prescribe drugs to an addict just because he's the son of a hospital board member. Or let an obese man die because he doesn't have insurance. Lukas didn't play hospital politics at his former job, and he won't in this small-town Missouri emergency department. One very attractive colleague seems to appreciate Lukas's commitment to honor and truth. But Dr. Mercy Richmond's feelings will be tested when her child is brought into Lukas's E.R., putting her sacred trust, her heart--and her daughter's life--in his hands."--p. [4] of cover.
Greg Egan
Nasim is a young computer scientist, hoping to work on the Human Connectome Project: a plan to map every neural connection in the brain. But funding for the project is cancelled, and she ends up devoting her career to Zendegi, a computerised virtual world used by millions. Then, 15 years later, the Connectome Project is revived.