E. Thomas Finan

The Other Side E. Thomas Finan

This debut collection of short stories by a rising young voice in American letters takes on the human condition with grit, humor, and penetrating insight. In "Lucy di Sartoria," a woman's marital infidelities prompt her to reevaluate her life. The title character of "Billy Stevens is 28" faces twenty-something angst, as the weight of missed opportunities falls squarely on his shoulders. "An Aria of Windrows" shows an office worker obsessing about a voicemail, and "Motley Black" is the comic tale of a melancholy man taking a cross-country bus trip. In the title story of the collection, a young wife afflicted with debilitating headaches notices strange things happening in her house. The stories of The Other Side explore our connections and disjunctions with other people. Refusing the glib comforts of rote despair or a false happiness, The Other Side focuses on moments of personal growth as well as times of falling short---on the emotional hinges, defeats, and victories of life.