Staff Pick
Imposing and sordidly cerebral, Jackson sets the bar high from the opening pages of his maiden collection. A veritable laundry list of decadent consumption, debauchery, and bored privilege kicks things off, and Jackson consistently delivers cleverly-wrought, cardiovascular fiction throughout. Prodigals heralds the arrival of a master craftsman, replete with filigree, capable of producing major work for years to come. Recommended By Justin W., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
During a violent storm, a filmmaker escapes New York, accompanied by a woman who may be his therapist. A lawyer in the throes of divorce seeks refuge at her seaside cottage only to find a vagrant girl living in it. A dilettantish banker sees his ambitions laid bare when he comes under the influence of two strange sisters. A group of friends gathers in the California desert for one last bacchanal, and a journalist finds his visit to the French country home of a former tennis star take a deeply unnerving turn.
Strivers, misfits, and children of privilege, the restless, sympathetic characters in Jackson's stellar short story collection, Prodigals, hew to passion and perversity through life's tempests. Theirs is a quest for meaning and authenticity in lives spoiled by self-knowledge and haunted by spiritual longing. Lyrical and unflinching, cerebral and surreal, this collection maps the degradations of contemporary life with insight and grace.