"This collection sizzles."
--Joe Oestreich, author of
Hitless Wonder
"I dare you to stop after reading one story."
--Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of
The Perfect Son
NIGHT MOVES
collects sixteen of Jared Dillian's most compelling short stories, in a gut punch of a book that introduces a powerful new voice in American short fiction.
Dillian is a bestselling nonfiction writer and financial expert by day, and his stories dive headlong into frequently complex and dark subject matter: sex, death, life, success, anxiety, the subconscious desire for self-sabotage, relationships, substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, wealth, and God. But mostly sex and death, because often we have to choose between the two at some crucial moment in our lives.
In one story, a professor with a drinking problem wins half a billion dollars on the Powerball--but has to fight old habits to claim his winnings in time. In another, a girl with an awkward smile and shiftless parents finds herself on track to secure a powerful job--until a strange new nighttime hobby imperils her future. And in another, a fifteen-year-old truant is sent to a mysterious religious sect in the high desert of Northern California--only to discover an awful truth that will set her running again. Dillian navigates through geographies and time periods with ease, creating distinctive personalities with one common thread: they all are fighting for their lives.
Filled with memorable characters, unforgettable twists, and dramatic insights into human nature, this is a page-turning, thought-provoking collection for any lover of the art of story.