From the intimate confines of a Nebraska farmhouse to the bustling streets of South America, the characters of Love, Dirt traverse uneasy spaces in search of human connection. A closeted teen on a trip to Chile hides in his parents鈥 bedroom to avoid being caught fooling around with a local boy. An elderly couple attempts to scale a volcano, wrestling with their own physical limitations and an unbearable loss in their past. A father becomes convinced that a daycare has swapped his toddler with a near-identical imposter. The public relations industry of Las Vegas is at first amused and then scandalized by a businesswoman鈥檚 ability to divine people鈥檚 birthplaces and childhood experiences just by listening to them speak. And a son鈥檚 long-deceased parents return to life as fumbling, inept zombies who are more nuisance than threat. In these and other stories, Bruce Johnson鈥檚 bold, thought-provoking debut explores how we are shaped by the narratives that we craft for ourselves and others.
鈥淚t takes Bruce Johnson two or three brushstrokes to draw one onto his canvas, concrete and clear and so poetic and resonating. These finely tuned stories of family and place, from Chilo茅 Island to Nevada, establish a momentum that finally forms into a vast, vibrant world.鈥濃擯ercival Everett, author, James
鈥淲hat a nimble, intelligent, far-ranging writer Bruce Johnson is. Johnson is equally adept at sharp-edged, gripping narratives, like 鈥業n Case I Don鈥檛 Call,鈥 in which a young man wants his sister to keep watch while he turns tricks, and sly, surreal tales like 鈥楾he So-Called Jacob,鈥 in which a father, picking up his son at daycare, is offered a different boy. Love, Dirt is an absorbing and deeply rewarding collection.鈥濃擬argot Livesey, judge, 海角乱伦社区Short Fiction Award
鈥淭hrough a beautifully refracted lens, Bruce Johnson sheds fresh and true light onto the genuine strangeness in our relationships and choices.鈥濃擜imee Bender, author, The Butterfly Lampshade
