Paradise, or, Eat Your Face

Overview

From acclaimed author Alan Cheuse comes a trio of provocative novellas. In the title piece, Paradise, or, Eat Your Face, we meet travel writer Susan Wheelis and follow her exotic journey to Bali, and into her own frustrated soul. Care centers on Rafe Santera, a recent stroke victim who was once a vibrant, intellectual romantic. Attended by one of his many female admirers, we find ourselves in the midst of an unusual and politically incorrect love story. Cheuse takes us into Santera's erotic past, set against the daily struggles of a harrowing decline. The third novella, When The Stars Threw Down Their Spears and Watered Heaven with Their Tears, follows author Paul Brunce as he grapples with art, life, and family. Publisher's Weekly has praised Cheuse's "impressive command of many voices" and, in this collection, he is once again in top form and in possession of a powerful range of literary gifts.

Author Biography

Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio's longtime "voice of books," is the author of five novels, four collections of short fiction, the memoir Fall Out of Heaven, and the collection of travel essays, A Trance After Breakfast. As a book commentator, Cheuse is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, Prairie Schooner, New Letters, The Idaho Review, and The Southern Review, among other places. He teaches in the Writing Program at George Mason University and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers.