Synopses & Reviews
Hidden Place is a literary suspense thriller set in Chicago and Puerto Escondido, a small Mexican beach town 150 miles south of Acapulco. Told in a strong vernacular voice, the story focuses on six major characters, all of them highly flawed and uncomfortably real. The narrator, Roman Pearson, and his girlfriend, Mila Popovic, take a vacation together to Escondido in the hopes of patching up their deteriorating relationship.
In Escondido they become involved in a cultural conflict between the local Indians and baby-boomer hippies from the U.S. who have overrun the town. One violent act of retribution between the two cultural groups leads to another, and eventually a little girl is accidentally killed. Roman is torn between trying to save his relationship with Mila and turning in the main instigator of the conflict another gringo from Oklahoma by the name of Jay to the authorities. To complicate matters, Mila is drawn to Jay and has an affair with him. The story is about Roman's struggle to find the courage to do the right thing and promote a more respectful coexistence between two divergent communities. It is also about the ever increasing conflict between the hedonistic "haves" of the First World, and the opportunistic "have nots" of the Third World.
Review
"Intriguing and absorbing. Shiflett has a powerful eye for characters and how the stubbornness, vanity, and fears of ordinary people can precipitate a descent into hell...Story-telling of the highest order." Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting
Review
"An important book, a universal story. Shiflett brilliantly melds literary concerns with page turning suspense. The result is an absolute knockout." Don De Grazia, author of American Skin
Review
"With its exploration of racism, American jingoism, dysfunctional families, and lost love, this work is moving, suspenseful, funny, thoughtful, and sad." Library Journal
Review
"Shiflett resists taming his characters, lets them burn in the brambles, in the heat of Mexico. They grow and they learn. We grow and we learn." Carolyn Chute, author of The Beans of Egypt, Maine
Synopsis
Fiction. HIDDEN PLACE has, in its Norte Americano and Mexican players, some of the most three-dimensional--tempted to say four-dimensional--stand-up-and-walk-on-their-own characters to be found in contemporary fiction. When you catch your breath at the end of this one-of-a-kind story, you will feel that you understand much more clearly America's mighty, yet ambiguous place in the world"--John Schultz. Author Shawn Shiflett, a professor in the fiction writing department at Colombia College Chicago, was born and raised in Chicago.
Synopsis
"With its exploration of racism, American jingoism, dysfunctional families, and lost love, this work is moving, suspenseful, funny, thoughtful, and sad. It will appeal to a wide range of readers . . ." --Library Journal
"Intriguing and absorbing. Shiflett has a powerful eye for characters and how the stubbornness, vanity, and fears of ordinary people can precipitate a descent into hell . . . Story-telling of the highest order." --Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting
Hidden Place is Shiflett's suspenseful and provocative literary debut, set in Chicago and Puerto Escondido, a small Mexican beach town 150 miles south of Acapulco. Told in a strong vernacular voice, the story focuses on six major characters, all of them highly flawed and uncomfortably real. The narrator, Roman Pearson, and his girlfriend, Mila Popovic, take a vacation together to Escondido in the hopes of patching up their deteriorating relationship.
In Escondido they become involved in a cultural conflict between the local Indians and the baby-boomer hippies from the US who have overrun the town. One violent act of retribution between the two cultural groups leads to another, and eventually a little girl is accidentally killed. Roman is torn between trying to save his relationship with Mila and turning in the main instigator of the conflict--another gringo from Oklahoma by the name of Jay--to the authorities. To complicate matters, Mila is drawn to Jay and has an affair with him. The story is about Roman's struggle to find the courage to do the right thing and promote a more respectful coexistence between two divergent communities. It is also about the ever-increasing conflict between the hedonistic "haves" of the first world, and the opportunistic "have nots" of the third world.
Synopsis
"Intriguing and absorbing, story-telling of the highest order."
Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting
"Shiflett resists taming his characters, lets them burn in the brambles, in the heat of Mexico. They grow and they learn. We grow and we learn."
Carolyn Chute, author of The Beans of Egypt, Maine
Hidden Place is a coming-of-age story in which the irreverent voice of Trainspotting meets the tropical mystery of The Beach. Set in Chicago and Mexico, the story focuses on six uncomfortably real characters. On a Mexican beach, a conflict between the local Indians and hippies from the U.S. escalates into a cycle of violence.
Shawn Shiflett was born and raised in Chicago. He is a tenured professor in fiction writing at Chicagos Columbia College. He lives in La Grange, Illinois, with his wife and two children.
Synopsis
A literary, multicultural suspense thriller set in Chicago and a remote coast in Mexico.