Sweet & Low
CBC Books | | Posted: December 19, 2018 4:02 PM | Last Updated: December 19, 2018
Nick White
At first glance, the stories in Sweet and Low seem grounded in the everyday: they paint pictures of idyllic Southern landscapes, characters fulfilling their roles as students, wives, boyfriends, sons. But they are not what they seem. In these stories, Nick White deconstructs the core qualities of Southern fiction, exposing deeply flawed and fascinating characters — promiscuous academics, aging podcasters, woodpecker assassins, and lawnmower enthusiasts, among others — all on wildly compelling quests. From finding an elusive bear to locating a prized timepiece to making love on the grave of an iconic writer, each story is a thrilling adventure with unexpected turns. White's honest and provocative prose will jolt readers awake with its urgency. (From Blue Rider Press)
From the book
The week before her flight, she records the twenty-fifth episode, this one about Arnie Greenlee. She's been avoiding the subject of Arnie since she started her podcast Rosemary Talks a few months after his death at the suggestion of her therapist, but now seems like as good a time as any to mention him.
"While not a perfect man," she tells her listeners, "he was certainly an interesting one."
Arnie Greenlee was tall and rawboned, and sported the ugliest smile she'd ever seen. Big and beaverlike, his two front teeth jutted out from his full-lipped maw even when it was closed.
"Which was often," she says in the dark studio. "My Arnie liked to talk."
From The Lovers in Sweet & Low by Nick White ©2018. Published by Blue Rider Press.