The pages of Far From the Thick of Things drip with...

 The pages of Far From the Thick of Things drip with incongruous, dreamlike images: a clever trollup braving an earthquake on a London street, a garage sale genie who takes wishes instead of granting them, a destitute theater actress who meets her former self in a dark alley. It’s these absurd juxtapositions—the extraordinary in the ordinary—that reveal the mechanics of the universe, as well as the inner-workings of our own hearts. 83, 535-word Far From the Thick of Things uses language itself to reveal the human condition, but only the spaces between can breathe metaphysical truth. Equal parts whimsy and poignancy, this collection of short stories is populated with colorful, diverse characters. We meet them at different stages of life, observing the dots that connect over time, weaving a mysterious tapestry of destiny, free will, and complete randomness. Some of the eccentric characters are cuddly, others prickly and rough around the edges. But all are—like us—redeemable.




Far From the Thick of Things Contents:

The Trollup, the Hobo and the DandyThe quaint Chelsae neighborhood Ruby Fuller has called home for half-a-century has grown up; it’s nearly unrecognizable. But a series of rare events, including an unprecedented earthquake that rattles her London street, prove that what matters is still intact.
The CovenantA heart attack at 40 has Phil Jacobs running. But he quickly learns it’s not death he’s running from; it’s his own nature.
The RideSuburbs are Godforsaken—Grant knows it to be true. It’ sheer boredom that makes that one fateful ride—to score shrooms—one  he will never forget, and one he will never speak about.
The Dead EndA destitute theater actress encounters her former self in a dark alley and is reminded what her heart is capable of.
The Distance Between StarsA strange antique telescope purchased at a garage sale tempts an aging astronomer with the key to true happiness. In order to have it, he must give up the few things he loves.
CozyThe mysterious Victorian home that has been transplanted into a suburban neighborhood invites a mishmash of childhood imagination with adult gossip.
CirqueAn orphan is abducted from Wonderlodge Home for Children by a band of clowns, but only for a week. The experience shapes him, long after the delightful and sinister clowns are stuffed back into the trunk from which they came.
The Sculptor’s MuseA sculptor succeeds at soliciting perfection from the universe, in the form of his first masterpiece. The problem is, he falls in love with it.
The MarrionetteThe enigmatic marionette given to Jack by his eccentric bohemian aunt must eventually be tossed into the basement. But it continues, from darkness, to pull strings in the Hollister Home.
DesireBen 35-D, an undesirable, is jaded by constant terrorist bombings. But an encounter with celebrity makes him aspire to more.
VisionA young art student finds himself chatting with a blind patron before his favorite painting, a hundred year-old impressionist masterpiece. Only after the two part ways does the boy realize, beyond reason, the man he’s been chatting with is the artist himself.
Code of SilenceA naïve rodeo cowboy comes to Hollywood with stars in his eyes, but quickly learns the motion picture industry is in bed with the mob. He finds himself framed by the D.A.’s office, the press, and the clergy—each with its own code of silence.
The Salt FlatsIgnorance prevails in the tiny desert town of Johannesburg; all it spawns are bible thumpers and tweakers. Seven year-old Grant must learn the tough lesson that we’re all just kicking the dog, from the eighteen year-old his Ma’s taken up with to that snake they’ve got in a fish tank in the living room. It refuses to eat the poor mouse that’s been in there a week, prefers to terrorize it instead.
OutpostA train-hopping drifter settles in a tiny roadside outpost where a chance encounter brings him face to face with his own haunted past, and the doomed love affair that has left him emotionally barren.
The FortIn an attempt to escape the deluge of adolescence, 14 year-old Rick spends a summer at his uncle’s diner in the desert. What he learns about life and himself will have to be locked away, but treasured like the desert diamond he finds in the abandoned mine shaft behind the roadside diner.

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