{"product_id":"the-best-that-you-can-do-stories-paperback","title":"The Best That You Can Do: Stories - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAmina Gautier\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2023 Soft Skull-Kimbilio Publishing Prize, a collection of short stories that elaborate the realities of a diasporic existence, split identities, and the beautiful potency of meaningful connections\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePrimarily told from the perspective of women and children in the Northeast who are tethered to fathers and families in Puerto Rico, these stories explore the cultural confusion of being one person in two places--of having a mother who wants your father and his language to stay on his island but sends you there because you need to know your family. Loudly and joyfully filled with Cousins, Aunts, Grandparents, and budding romances, these stories are saturated in summer nostalgia, and place readers at the center of the table to enjoy family traditions and holidays: the resplendent and universal language of survival for displaced or broken families. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRefusing to shy away from dysfunction, loss, obligation, or interrogating Black and Latinx heritages \"If we flip the channels fast enough, we can turn almost anyone Puerto Rican, blurring black and white into Boricua.\" Gautier's stories feature New York neighborhoods made of island nations living with seasonal and perpetual displacement. Like Justin Torres' \u003ci\u003eWe the Animals\u003c\/i\u003e, or Quiara Alegria Hudes' \u003ci\u003eMy Broken Language\u003c\/i\u003e, it's the characters-in-becoming--flanked by family and rich with detail--that animate each story with special frequencies, especially for readers grappling split-identities themselves.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmina Gautier, Ph.D.\u003c\/b\u003e, is the author of three short story collections: \u003ci\u003eAt-Risk\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNow We Will Be Happy\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Loss of All Lost Things\u003c\/i\u003e. Gautier is the recipient of the Blackwell Prize, the Chicago Public Library Foundation's 21st Century Award, the International Latino Book Award, the Flannery O'Connor Award, and the Phillis Wheatley Award in Fiction. For her body of work, she has received the PEN\/MALAMUD Award for Excellence in the Short Story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 7.9 x 5.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 16, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764478116128,"sku":"9781593767587","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/a7b57f5478cd417d2a6153c778cd44fe.webp?v=1780249519","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-best-that-you-can-do-stories-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}