{"product_id":"separate-kingdoms-stories-paperback","title":"Separate Kingdoms: Stories - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eValerie Laken\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A work of daunting versatility and technical skill, the product of a writer absolutely at home in the language and working vigorously within both new and old forms.\" --Michael Byers, author of \u003cem\u003eLong for this World \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Coast of Good Intentions\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Pushcart Prize-winner Valerie Laken, author of \u003cem\u003eDream House\u003c\/em\u003e, comes a riveting short story collection charting the divisions and collisions between cultures and nations, families and lovers, selves and others in the United States and Russia. In the tradition of Lydia Peelle, Barbara Johnson, and David Mitchell, Laken creates incisive and illuminating portraits of characters coping with loss, estrangement, and disability, confined by their circumstances to separate kingdoms of the heart. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Valerie Laken, the Pushcart Prize-winning author of \u003cem\u003eDream House\u003c\/em\u003e, comes a powerful collection of short stories charting the divisions and collisions between cultures and nations, families and outsiders, and partners and misfits searching for love. Set in Russia and the United States, these are boldly innovative stories--tales of fractured, misplaced characters moving beyond the borders of their isolation and reaching for the connections that will make them whole.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA family, shaken by an industrial accident, is divided, its members isolated in their home and only able to understand one another from their separate rooms. A young gay couple travels to Russia to meet the child they're desperately trying to adopt, but the experience reveals an emotional divide between the parents-to-be. A recent amputee removes herself from her body to keep her husband at bay. And the idyllic village life of a blind Russian boy is disrupted by an American dentist and the wonders of racy Western magazines. \u003cem\u003eSeparate Kingdoms\u003c\/em\u003e is a rich and satisfying collection that traverses the distances between people and places in each marvelously rendered story. \u003c\/p\u003e--\u003cem\u003eMilwaukee Journal Sentinel\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Valerie Laken, the Pushcart Prize-winning author of \u003cem\u003eDream House\u003c\/em\u003e, comes a powerful collection of short stories charting the divisions and collisions between cultures and nations, families and outsiders, and partners and misfits searching for love. Set in Russia and the United States, these are boldly innovative stories--tales of fractured, misplaced characters moving beyond the borders of their isolation and reaching for the connections that will make them whole.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA family, shaken by an industrial accident, is divided, its members isolated in their home and only able to understand one another from their separate rooms. A young gay couple travels to Russia to meet the child they're desperately trying to adopt, but the experience reveals an emotional divide between the parents-to-be. A recent amputee removes herself from her body to keep her husband at bay. And the idyllic village life of a blind Russian boy is disrupted by an American dentist and the wonders of racy Western magazines. \u003cem\u003eSeparate Kingdoms\u003c\/em\u003e is a rich and satisfying collection that traverses the distances between people and places in each marvelously rendered story. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 7.9 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 29, 2011\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51753426092320,"sku":"9780060840945","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/ce69f4d6fc8c102345515f1268e027e2.webp?v=1780019957","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/separate-kingdoms-stories-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}