鈥淚 glanced out the window as my train pulled into the station and saw the girl who killed my son.鈥 So begins Josh Rolnick鈥檚 powerful debut collection of eight stories, which utilizes a richly focused narrative style accenting the unavoidable tragedies of life while revealing the grace and dignity with which people learn to deal with them. The stories鈥攆our set in New Jersey and four in New York鈥攕pan the wide geographic tapestry of the area and demonstrate the interconnectedness of both the neighboring states and the residents who inhabit them.
In 鈥淔unnyboy,鈥 a grief-stricken Levi Stern struggles to come to terms with the banality of his son鈥檚 accidental death at the hands of Missy Jones, high school cheerleader. In 鈥淧ulp and Paper,鈥 two neighbors, Gail Denny and Avery Mayberry, attempt to escape a toxic spill resulting from a train derailment when a moment of compassion alters both their futures forever. 鈥泪苍nkeeping鈥 features a teenager鈥檚 simmering resentment toward the burgeoning relationship between his widowed mother and a long-term hotel guest. 鈥淭he Herald鈥 introduces us to Dale, a devoted reporter on a small-town newspaper, desperately striving to break a big-time story to salvage his career and his ego. A teenager deals with the inconceivable results of his innocent act before an ice hockey game in 鈥淏ig Lake.鈥 And in 鈥淭he Carousel,鈥 a Coney Island carousel operator confronts the fading memories of a world that once overflowed with grandeur and promise. Throughout, Rolnick鈥檚 characters search for a firm footing while wrestling with life鈥檚 hardships, finding hope and redemption in the simple yet uncommon willingness to act.
Pulp and Paper captures lightning in a bottle, excavating the smallest steps people take to move beyond grief, heartbreak, and failure鈥攃onjuring the subtle, fragile moments when people are not yet whole, but no longer quite as broken.
鈥淛osh Rolnick is a wonderful observer and a beautiful storyteller. Each story in Pulp and Paper is a path to the hearts of Rolnick鈥檚 characters, who, like you and me, strive to be their true, honest selves despite follies and weaknesses. A truly compassionate collection.鈥濃擸iyun Li
鈥淛osh Rolnick鈥檚 extraordinary stories suggest the author suffers from a strange anatomical condition: he clearly has a heart that鈥檚 even larger than his oversized, electrified brain.鈥濃擭ic Brown, author, Doubles and Floodmarkers
鈥泪苍 Pulp and Paper, Josh Rolnick鈥檚 characters remind us what it is to confront loss鈥攆rom the everyday to the unimaginable鈥攁nd what it takes to survive it, or to admit the ways in which it cannot be survived. Sharp and arresting on the sentence level, and full of compelling insight into the private lives of the kind of people we regularly see trying to hold it together, but rarely imagine as precisely and generously as Rolnick has, this book is a real wonder.鈥濃擠anielle Evans, author, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
