night at the fiestas by kirstin valdez quade

But Quade focuses just as intensely on the subtler customs, cruelties, kindnesses, and skewed alliances of precarious family life.” - Ann Hulbert, The Atlantic In almost every story, Quade goes for vivid spectacle and theatrical plot twists. “Legitimate masterpieces…The collection reminds us, again and again, that each of us has only one life, and forces us to confront the biggest questions: Shouldn’t that one life matter, shouldn’t that life be worth remembering, shouldn’t it be worth examining, contemplating, pursuing in understanding, even though all varieties of understanding are so difficult, so time-bound, so provisional?” – New York Times (full review) One girl attempts to uncover the mystery of her cousin’s violent past, while another young woman finds herself at an impasse when she is asked to hear her priest’s confession.Īlways hopeful, these stories chart the passions and obligations of family life, exploring themes of race, class, and coming-of-age, as Quade’s characters protect, betray, wound, undermine, bolster, define, and, ultimately, save each other. A lonely retiree new to Santa Fe becomes obsessed with her housekeeper.

A young man discovers that his estranged father and a boa constrictor have been squatting in his grandmother’s empty house. The deadbeat father of a pregnant teenager tries to transform his life by playing the role of Jesus in a bloody penitential Passion. With intensity and emotional precision, Kirstin Valdez Quade’s unforgettable stories plunge us into the fierce, troubled hearts of characters defined by the desire to escape the past or else to plumb its depths. “ sparkling debut collection…features dreamers and schemers whose lives pulsate with wild hopes, hard luck, stunning secrets, and saving grace.” ― Elle Winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prizeįinalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Award

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Night at the fiestas by kirstin valdez quade