Heartbroke

Heartbroke by Chelsea Bieker, published by Catapult on April 5, 2022, is a collection of short stories that explores the complexities of love and longing against the backdrop of California’s Central Valley. This edition, comprising 288 pages, presents a vivid portrayal of characters grappling with desire and loss, each navigating their unique circumstances in a landscape that is both stark and expansive.
Readers will encounter a range of narratives, including a woman who steals a baby in a desperate bid to reclaim her motherhood and a phone-sex operator whose life changes with the arrival of a mysterious cowboy. The stories delve into themes of motherhood, connection, and the search for grace amid chaos. With bright, snapping prose, Heartbroke captures the essence of its characters’ struggles and aspirations, revealing a world rich with emotional depth and complexity.
Official synopsis Publisher
Winner of the California Book Award
From the acclaimed author of Godshot and “a pitch-perfect ventriloquist of extraordinary talent and ferocity” (T Kira Madden) comes a defining book of Californian stories where everyone is seeking or sabotaging love
United by the stark and sprawling landscapes of California’s Central Valley, the characters of Heartbroke boil with reckless desire. A woman steals a baby from a shelter in an attempt to recoup her own lost motherhood. A phone-sex operator sees divine opportunity when a lavender-eyed cowboy walks into her life. A mother and a son selling dream catchers along a highway that leads to a toxic beach manifest two young documentary filmmakers into their realm. And two teenage girls play a dangerous online game with destiny.
Heartbroke brims over with each character’s attempt to salvage grace where they can find it. Told in bright, snapping prose that reveals a world of loss and love underneath, Chelsea Bieker brilliantly illuminates a golden yet gothic world of longing and abandonment under an unrelenting California sun.
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