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Book Summary and Reviews of We Live in Water by Jess Walter

We Live in Water by Jess Walter

We Live in Water

Stories

by Jess Walter

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2013, 192 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The first collection of short fiction from Jess Walter, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins, We Live in Water is a diverse suite of stories marked by the wry wit and generosity of spirit that has made him one of America's most talked-about writers.

Stories in We Live in Water range from comic tales of love to social satire and suspenseful crime fiction. Traveling from hip Portland to once-hip Seattle to never-hip Spokane, to a condemned casino in Las Vegas and a bottomless lake in the dark woods of Idaho, this is a world of lost fathers and redemptive con men, of personal struggles and diminished dreams.

In title story "We Live in Water", a lawyer returns to his corrupt hometown to find his father, who disappeared 30 years earlier. In "Thief," a blue-collar worker turns unlikely detective to find out which of his kids is stealing from the family fund.

"Anything Helps" sees a homeless man try to raise money to buy his son the new Harry Potter book; and in "Virgo," a newspaper editor attempts to get back at his superstitious ex-girlfriend by screwing with her horoscope.

Also included are "Don't Eat Cat" and "Statistical Abstract of My Hometown, Spokane, Washington," both of which achieved cult status after their first publication online.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. The debut story collection from Walter proves he's as skilled at satire and class commentary in the short form as in his novels." - Kirkus

"Starred Review. Darkly funny, sneakily sad, these stories are very, very good. You know the way Web sites recommend books by saying if you liked this, you'll like that? The algorithm for this debut collection is straightforward: if you like to read, you'll like this book. " - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. With their visceral depictions of the homeless, the bereft, and the marginalized, often presented with a signature blend of wicked humor and heartbreaking tenderness, Walter's intense stories speak directly to the contemporary American experience... Wildly entertaining and thought-provoking fiction from a prodigiously talented writer."" - Booklist

This information about We Live in Water was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Diane S.

We live in water
I loved this grouping of short stories. Not really sure why, his prose is not beautiful but rather plain, but boy can he put stories together. Absolutely loved that he took people that we tend to overlook and often condemn, the addicts, the prostitutes, the thieves, many of life's dispossessed people and he gave them a human face. Found a tiny chink of goodness that makes one want to take another look and keep reading to find out where he is going next. My two favorites were actually the first two stories but I also enjoyed his view of post apocalyptic fiction, which was actually a longer story. Will definitely read more from this author.

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Author Information

Jess Walter Author Biography

Jess Walter is the author of eight books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, Beautiful Ruins; The Zero, finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award. His work has been published in 32 languages and his short fiction has appeared three times in Best American Short Stories.

Link to Jess Walter's Website

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More Recommendations

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