Thomas Lynch is a thinker. A philosopher. And a mortician. He also has an amazing sense of humor and perfect comedic timing.
Apparitions & Late Fictions is his first foray into fiction, after having written essays and poetry that were nominated for and awarded some of the highest literary prizes in America.
Short stories to make you think.
— Jill
Description
Heart-rending stories of life and death: a debut fiction collection by the award-winning author of The Undertaking.
A Methodist minister gone astray, a grieving trout bum gone fishing with his father’s remains, an artist overwhelmed by incarnate beauty—these are just a few of the iconic yet utterly unique characters in Thomas Lynch’s spirited collection. Set in Michigan’s north woods, in Ohio’s interior, on islands, in casinos, and in distant cities, these stories are linked by the gone and not forgotten: former spouses, dead parents, and missing children. In pursuit of love and its redemptions, these are pilgrims haunted by memory, dogged by desire, made radiant by romance and its denouements.
With the elegant prose of Frederick Busch and the Irish sensibility of William Trevor, Lynch masterfully creates a world where mirage and apparition are commonplace, where people searching for connection and old comforts find them both near at hand and oddly out of reach.
About the Author
Thomas Lynch’s stories, poems, and essays have appeared in Granta, the Atlantic, Harper’s, the New York Times, and elsewhere. His first collection of essays, The Undertaking, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Lynch lives in Milford, Michigan.
Praise For…
With Apparition and Late Fictions Lynch has added another chapter to one of the most memorable records in American letters.
— The New York Times Book Review
Starred Review. Funeral director turned writer Lynch brings a soft-spoken humanity to bear on aspects of life as well as death in his debut fiction collection…. Compassion, mourning, joy and wit all play roles in this tender, insightful hefting of mortality’s mysteries. — Kirkus Reviews
There is wisdom, courage, and great depth of feeling here. The pieces in this powerful, meditative collection are all beautifully drawn; the title story is a masterpiece. — Library Journal
