San Diego Stories (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798316276554)

Praise for San Diego Stories and François Bereaud

"These stories teem with grit and yearning. The reader immediately takes a deep dive into the lush textures of the city, along the way uncovering overlapping coincidences of relationship and disconnection. Bereaud's San Diego Stories is at once a love letter to a place and a sharp-eyed view of its richly diverse inhabitants."

-Lynn C. Miller, author most recently of the story collection The Lost Archive and the novel The Unmasking

"San Diego is to François Bereaud what New York is to Paul Auster. The 12 stories and novella in the collection paint the cityscape with vivid existential realism through the eyes of characters navigating modern life amidst timeless constraints. Bereaud has a knack for slipping into the skin of his characters-teens, adults, men, women, straight, queer, natives, immigrants-all with effortless credibility. His are flawed but good people carrying their share of love, loss, guilt, solitude and want with resigned consent through the odysseys of their lives. Armed with Hemingway's economy, Bukowski's thrill, Carver's calm and his own humane depth, François Bereaud has penned some of the finest contemporary American stories and is thumping "gently, but persistently" against the gates of American short fiction."

-Ankit Raj Ojha, author of Pinpricks: poems and editor of The Hooghly Review

San Diego Stories exposes the pale, soft underbelly of a tan and glistening vacation city. Perceptive and sensitive stories about people rarely heard, finding a way to survive. Bereaud's writing is fearless and empathetic, a dynamic combination.

-Meagan Lucas, author of the award winning novel, Songbirds and Stray Dogs, the Anthony nominated collection, Here in the Dark, and Editor in Chief of Reckon Review.

"The tales in Francois Bereaud's San Diego Stories are fast, dark, and gritty, sure, but also touching and wildly entertaining. Short fiction should punch, and there's plenty of punching here. Great openings and tight dialogue, too. This is a hell of a debut, and Bereaud is one to watch."

-Gabino Iglesias, award winning author of The Devil Takes You Home and House of Bone and Rain, New York Times horror columnist

"On the wings of these awesome pages, I flew to San Diego, but not only that. I smelled the air, I felt the heat, most of all, I met unforgettable characters who were both interesting and flawed enough to haunt me long after reading."

-Ibrahim Babátúndé Ibrahim, winner, 2022 Quramo Writer's Prize

Cowboy Jamboree Press
good grit lit.

Author: François Bereaud
ISBN-13: 9798316276554
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 09/03/2024
Pages: 258
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.67lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.58d