Cruising Paradise, by Sam Shepard (Vintage 1997)

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Neil

A mosaic of short stories, dialogues and fictional diary entries, set mostly in New Mexico, and characterised by their sensual muscularity reminiscent of Hemingway. His characters are mostly lost, searching for redemption but failing to find it, searching for a fictional American Dream. It's a sad but powerful read, the stories are mostly just a few pages, but carry a real sense of place and character.