Containing a rich mix of acclaimed and award-winning stories, Cut Road is a masterful exploration of the loss and scars that conflict always leaves behind. Where soldiers abandon too much of themselves in war zones, parents relinquish control of their children, and friends struggle with change and tragedy. From the working soul struggling with grief to the wounded veteran seeking redemption in a coffee shop to the sweaty tree-planter fleeing a burning forest, in this collection no one--least of all the reader--is left unscathed.
Jesse doesn't like it when I call him Dad, but I still do. Two things, he'll say. One, your dad left a long time ago. Two, although you don't want to say he's your dad, he still is. I'm not. Clear?
Having shown, in his novels, what he can do with fabulism, Brent Van Staalduinen gives us a debut collection anchored in real human experience. With immediacy and emotion, Cut Road introduces us to characters facing the uncertainties of life in our present moment. The prose is detailed and evocative, the storytelling complex and humane. These are strong, tempered visions of the world, crafted with skill and care.
J.R. McConvey, author of Different Beasts