In this collection of 10 short stories, Adderson explores subjects from the cruelty of childhood to the reflections of a cobbler prospecting for gold in turn-of-the-century British Columbia.
Three weeks into their marriage, Ross and Iliana Alexander get into a car accident that leaves Iliana paralyzed. Ross struggles with his guilt while Iliana learns to live with her new condition, processes complicated by Ross's too-close relationship with his twin sister Bonnie and her young son. Two years later, trying to start anew, they are running a café when Bonnie arrives with her son, stirring up unresolved tensions.
Ellen McGinty: sexy, impulsive, loud-mouthed, chock full of regrets. In middle age she sells the house she raised her daughters in, slips off the shell of her old life, and steps out for a first, tentative foray into real contentment - directly into the path of a man twenty years her junior. Through the eyes of her lover, Matt, her ex-husband, Larry, her two daughters, her grandson, and a friend who both supports and betrays her, her story explodes into multiple points of view.
2004. Jane is shocked to see a familiar face on the front page of her paper - Sonia, a lost friend accused of terrorism, who has just been released after twenty years in prison. The memories of her university housemates come flooding back: Sonia, who yearned to save the world's children from nuclear war; the Marxist-leaning Dieter; and the anarcho-feminist-pacifist Pete, who all drew Jane into NAG, an anti-nuclear group. Planning to cross the border and chain themselves to a Boeing factory fence, everything changed when a bomb exploded.
Seven-year-old Bruno is tackling problems with his trademark originality. He defeats hiccups, tries being bad, and celebrates his daily birthdays. He also skillfully avoids doing math, and advances to the next level of swimming - and life!
Jasper is struggling to deal with the excessive attentions of his classmate Isabel, who just won't leave him alone. She even invites him over for a playdate! When Jasper complains to his parents that he's too sick to go to her house, his dad says he must have a case of "girl-itis." However, once he arrives, Jasper is thrilled to discover that Isabel has a trampoline that is just awesome fun to use. Can Jasper find some way to keep using her trampoline and yet get her to stop being in love with him?
Ce pourrait être une histoire d'amour banale: un homme, Ross, une jeune femme, Iliana; un bon vivant, une infirmière timide; une rencontre due au hasard; un coup de foudre; une union, une belle fête avec les amis. Et pourtant... Ce sera l'histoire d'un mariage marqué par un drame. L'histoire d'un couple blessé; d'un mari qui culpabilise et d'une épouse qui fait tout pour reprendre le dessus; d'un homme qui se perd et d'une femme qui va se trouver...
