About the Book
Alexander Popper can't stop remembering: four years old when his father tossed him into Lake Michigan, he was told, “sink or swim, kid.” In his mind, he's still bobbing in that frigid water. The rest of this novel's vivid cast of characters also struggle to remain afloat: Popper's mother, his brother, his paternal grandparents, his father, and his college girlfriend all struggle to get by. Covering four generations of the Popper family, Peter Orner illuminates the countless ways that love both makes us whole and completely unravels us. A comic and sorrowful tapestry of memory of connection and disconnection, Love and Shame and Love explores the universals with stunning originality and wisdom.
About the AuthorPeter Orner was born in Chicago and is the author of two widely praised books, Esther Stories and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo. His work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and The Best American Short Stories, and has been awarded two Pushcart Prizes. He lives in San Francisco.
