Pieces of Time — David Jones

In settings that range from small-town America to Mexico and Jamaica, ordinary people, caught between the real and the surreal, grapple with the most unlikely twists of fate as they struggle to understand life. A young Hispanic boy learns the meaning of love from a fish stranded in a Sierra rock pool. A girl confronts the darkness behind her creative talent. A vagabond handyman is chased out of one town and then reappears in a later story to find his purpose. A character slips from a 13th-century tale into a 20th-century brothel. A depressed man escapes suicide—or does he?—after anonymously helping a Scottish girl whose mother is dying. A cocaine dealer quits the habit after an encounter with a talking raven. A MAGA loyalist discovers he's gay. An apple grower hides the grotesque truth of his secret hobby. Two Jehovah's Witnesses on a mission are arrested at the Mexico City airport. This is flash fiction at its sharpest—strange, fast, and unforgettable. These stories will keep you awake while you wait for your surgical readjustment or your DMV appointment.