Valerie Sayers crée des fictions qui explorent en profondeur les relations humaines et les préoccupations sociétales. Sa prose, souvent située dans une ville sudiste fictive qui fait écho à son éducation, plonge dans les complexités de la vie avec une subtile ironie et une perspicacité aiguë. Sayers manie la langue avec maestria, créant des images vives et des personnages qui résonnent longtemps après la dernière page. Son écriture témoigne de la résilience de l'esprit humain et de la quête durable d'identité.
Mary Faith Rapple is smart, pretty and very pregnant. Certainly not unusual, even in the sleepy town of Due East, South Carolina. But when Mary Faith announces that it will be a virgin birth, and her father, owner of a local filling station, vows to uncover the truth, sparks begin to fly!
Set in a world where historical figures like Dorothy Day and Joe DiMaggio coexist, the narrative explores themes of Catholic antisemitism and the struggle for pacifism against pervasive evil. Through a blend of realistic and fantastical elements, the story highlights the impact of public media, including Evans' photography and DiMaggio's baseball legacy, as characters confront societal challenges. The inventive structure invites readers to reflect on the intersection of personal and political dilemmas during a tumultuous era.
In the spirit of Muriel Spark and Walker Percy, The Age of Infidelity's eleven stories embrace the comic, the absurd, and the dead serious. Faithless parents betray their children, the young betray the old, and lovers betray each other--but somehow these characters cling to hope. Aging white cheerleaders shout through an online megaphone, remembering a time when racial equality seemed almost possible; a teenager endures her father's abandonment as her mother's psychotic episodes pick up pace; an old couple on the lam from the Constitutional Guard of the future hides out in a garage reminiscent of our consumerist past. In an age many call post-religious, these characters want to believe in something, but they're not always sure what that something is. Set in landscapes from the small-town South to New York City, from a parched Midwest to a deserted Dublin, these stories time-travel from our Jim Crow past to an imagined future of warehouses for the aged where robots do the nursing. With what the Washington Post describes as her ""distinctive brutal elegance,"" Valerie Sayers writes playfully, powerfully, and musically. These stories form an album riffing on our age, the Age of Infidelity.
Exploring the complexities of love and belonging, the story follows Franny Starkey, a quirky artist with a troubled childhood, and Steward Morehouse, a privileged young man from the South. Their passionate yet tumultuous relationship unfolds across various settings, including New York City and Ireland, as they navigate their deep connection and longing for their roots in the fictional town of Due East. Valerie Sayers' rich prose captures the essence of their bond and the nostalgia of home, creating a vivid tapestry of youthful love and self-discovery.
Set in Due East, South Carolina, the story follows Delores Rooney, a transplanted Yankee, and her remarkable family as they navigate personal challenges amid the national turmoil leading up to JFK's assassination. This vibrant and compassionate narrative explores themes of growth and resilience, capturing both the intimate struggles of the characters and the broader societal changes of the era.