Our Love Could Light the World

“Parrish weaves linked, darkly humorous tales of aging, death, love and alcoholism using the gothic tropes of Southern literary fiction.”
—Kirkus Reviews

The 2013 International Books awards named Our Love Could Light The World a Finalist in the short story category.
Our Love Could Light the World has been named on the Kirkus list of recommended books in the “Indie” category.

You know the Dugans. They’re that scrappy family that lives down the street. Their yard is overgrown, they don’t pick up after their dog, their five children run free—leaving chaos in their wake—and the father hasn’t earned a cent in years. The wife holds them together on her income alone. You wouldn’t want them for neighbors—but from a distance, they’re quite entertaining. Set in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, the twelve linked stories of Our Love Could Light The World depict a dysfunctional family that’s messy and rude, cruel and kind, and loyal to the end.

Author: Anne Leigh Parrish

Publication Date: June 3, 2013

Categories: Fiction, Spring 2013, Women’s Fiction

Description
About the Author

Description

“Parrish weaves linked, darkly humorous tales of aging, death, love and alcoholism using the gothic tropes of Southern literary fiction.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Parrish is in possession of such precise prose, devilish wit, and big-hearted compassion that I couldn’t help but be drawn into the hijinks and mishaps of the Dugan family. I found myself one moment laughing out loud, and the next, overcome with emotion. I’d compare these linked stories to those of George Saunders, Elizabeth Strout, or perhaps even Flannery O’Connor, if Parrish’s voice weren’t so clearly and wonderfully her own.”
—Ross McMeekin, Editor, Spartan

“Parrish knows the subtle movements of families in turmoil and the flailing attempts at love and peace. She takes you inside the homes of your neighbors, or of people like them, and she captures in fi ne detail their private, crippling agonies and their tiny, saving grace notes. Reading Our Love Could Light the World is like holding up a mirror—you see yourself, and then, if you look closely, you also see things you might otherwise have missed.”
—Craig Lancaster, author of 600 Hours of Edward

About the Author

Anne Leigh Parrish’s debut story collection, All The Roads That Lead From Home, won the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards silver medal for best short story fiction. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Clackamas Literary Review, among other publications. She is the fiction editor for Eclectica Magazine. She lives in Seattle. To learn more, visit her at www.anneleighparrish.com.

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