A Simplified Map of the Real World Lib/E: The Renata Stories
Fifteen linked stories chart a true course through the lives of families, farmers, loggers, former classmates, and the occasional stripper. In the richly imagined town of Renata, Oregon, a man watches his neighbor's big-screen TV through binoculars, an errant son paints himself silver, mysterious electrical humming emanates from an enormous barn. In A Simplified Map of the Real World, intimate boundaries are loosened by history-and high above the strife and the hope and the often hilarious, geese seek the perfect tailwind. Stevan Allred's stunning debut deftly navigates the stubborn geography of the human heart.
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Stevan Allred lives and writes in a house in the woods halfway between Fisher's Mill and Viola, in rural Clackamas County, outside of Portland, Oregon. He is the editor of Dixon Ticonderoga, a zine that explores the intimate relationship between divorce and pencils. He teaches writing at the Pinewood Table. Allred has been published in numerous literary journals and websites, and he has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
A world full of beautiful and messy people living beautiful and messy lives. These stories are great on their own, and even stronger together.
-- "Yuvi Zalkow, author of A Brilliant Novel in the Works"Death and high jinks, love and rage-the ordinary doings of a small town are not so simple. Stevan Allred has clear vision and he's a loving and joyful teller of tales.
-- "Joanna Rose, author of Little Miss Strange"Beautiful and honest...Gorgeously written, A Simplified Map of the Real World will make you wonder why you haven't been reading Stevan Allred all your life.
-- "Scott Sparling, author of Wire to Wire"
