A bitter newspaper reporter holds court in a decrepit bar in a dying Rust Belt town. A peasant family disintegrates within a tropical society on the verge of revolution. A bus driver laments his job during a uniquely monotonous trip through the dreary Midwestern landscape. A shell-shocked war correspondent wanders aimlessly in frigid French Canada. An Ecuadorian woman toils in an American sweatshop, only to return to despair and infidelity at home. These and other characters both ordinary and extraordinary populate Anywhere but Here. Set in a variety of locales -- from Ohio to South America -- the stories and vignettes that comprise this collection raise questions about identity, permanence, and the quiet struggle to find meaning in a seemingly senseless world. In an age of globalization and instant interconnection, Anywhere but Here offers a subtle examination of events and emotions that divide us but, at the same time, unite us in shared isolation.
