Trailer Girl and Other Stories

by Terese Svoboda

Book Overview

"I talk like a lady who knows what she wants" is how the vagrant begins her story in "Trailer Girl". As she struggles to rescue what she says is a wild girl hiding in the gully, the neighbors become more certain than ever that the child is imaginary--until there's a murder. Stark and disturbing, "Trailer Girl" is the story of cycles of child abuse and the dream to escape them. In "Psychic", a clairvoyant knows she's been hired by a murderer, in "Leadership"...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582430853
• ISBN13: 9781582430850
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Catapult
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

energetic, mysterious -- and funny

The published reviews focus on how dark this book is, and indeed it is dark. But you cannot escape the humor that peppers the pain and keeps the book afloat. The title novella contains abuse, sorrow and madness, but the characters are so full of life and devoid of self-pity that you are taken with them, while still maintaining an observant distance. Svoboda is a poet, and her language here is sharp and vigorous. Her tales are about family and loss, told with a sharp eye and a sharper tongue. Each is like a shot of espresso -- a brief but complete experience, which you savor in reflection. For anyone who values power and economy in their fiction, this book will be a treat.