Life, Orange to Pear follows a man and his daughter Cyndi as they deal with life, the occult, Santa Claus, boys, and death. This universe is a strange and rich place, and sometimes it takes booze and a surreal understanding of sex and The Rockford Files to get through life. Mostly though what it takes is a deep and abiding love for the richness of oranges and pears, how their scent can take you over and make everything in the moment all right.
A bittersweet, quirky, equal parts dark-and-delightful novel. Each chapter reads as a standalone flash fiction piece, but read the whole thing through to get the most of the relationship between the father and daughter--and to understand the poignant title. I loved this book and want to read more of Brantingham's work.