FLORIDA

u003cbu003eThe universally-acclaimed return of the u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003e bestselling author of u003ciu003eFates and Furies u003c/iu003eand u003ciu003eMatrix.u003c/iu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003eIn Lauren Groff’s u003c/bu003eu003ciu003eFloridau003c/iu003e, u003cbu003ethe hot sun shines, but a wild darkness lurks. u003c/bu003eu003ciu003eFloridau003c/iu003eu003cbu003e is a "superlative" book (u003ciu003eBoston Globeu003c/iu003e), "gorgeously weird and limber" (u003ciu003eNew Yorkeru003c/iu003e), "frequently funny" (u003ciu003eSan Francisco Chronicleu003c/iu003e), "brooding, inventive and often moving" (NPR Fresh Air) -- as Groff is recognized as "Florida's unofficial poet laureate, as Joan Didion was for California." (u003ciu003eWashington Postu003c/iu003e) u003c/bu003eu003ciu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003c/iu003e"Groff's gifts as a writer just keep soaring higher and higher.” u003ciu003e– NPR’s Fresh Airu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eIn her thrilling new book, Lauren Groff brings the reader into a physical world that is at once domestic and wild—a place where the hazards of the natural world lie waiting to pounce, yet the greatest threats and mysteries are still of an emotional, psychological nature. A family retreat can be derailed by a prowling panther, or by a sexual secret. Among those navigating this place are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple, a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable, recurring character—a steely and conflicted wife and mother. u003cbru003eu003cbru003eThe stories in this collection span characters, towns, decades, even centuries, but Florida—its landscape, climate, history, and state of mind—becomes its gravitational center: an energy, a mood, as much as a place of residence. Groff transports the reader, then jolts us alert with a crackle of wit, a wave of sadness, a flash of cruelty, as she writes about loneliness, rage, family, and the passage of time. With shocking accuracy and effect, she pinpoints the moments and decisions and connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury—the moments that make us alive. Startling, precise, and affecting, u003ciu003eFloridau003c/iu003e is a magnificent achievement.