Signals: New And Selected Stories

"“Several angry looking people sat in hot cars, their faces carrying the uncomprehending disappointment of boiled crabs.” That is how Tim Gautreaux describes the denizens of a steamy Walmart parking lot in Louisiana. Gautreaux is the son of a Cajun tugboat captain, but he has never liked being described as a “Southern writer.” His latest book of short stories presents vivid, poignant portraits of a junk collector in Ohio, a furnace repairman in Minnesota, a Latvian in Louisiana and many other working-class characters who want to do good but struggle. You root for them – you’re completely drawn into their world. And that, for me, is the mark of a great writer."