From the acclaimed, prize-winning Catalonian author of the novel Lost
Luggage, a collection of nine masterful short stories about adulthood,
heartbreak, and outsiders in search of their place in the world.
As one of Catalonia's most acclaimed literary talents, Jordi Puntí's
writing is "full of invention and consistently gripping" (The Times
Literary Supplement). Now, he returns to his American audience with
this breathtaking short story collection. Sharing the title of the David
Bowie song, it travels from Spain to America and back, showing the
differences between the two places.
A man recalls a past love as he strolls through the lonely streets of
Barcelona. A hitchhiker on the outskirts of the city of Vic carries his
secrets in a briefcase. In northern Catalonia, a villager receives
letters from a long-estranged brother and grapples with how to respond.
Then there's the man who wants to surprise his wife with a trip to
Paris, only to swap it for a solitary cruise.
Showcasing "the author's vivid imagination" (Kirkus Reviews), the
stories in This Is Not America are effortless evocations of the
strangeness of everyday life and the universal search for love and
belonging.
