Animal Person

From O. Henry Prize winner Alexander MacLeod comes a magnificent collection of short fiction that illuminates the perilous space between desire and action.

Startling, suspenseful, and deeply humane, yet alert to the undertow of our darker instincts, the eight stories in Animal Person explore what it means to exist in the tension between wanting and doing. A petty argument between sisters is interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Adjoining motel rooms connect a family on the brink of a new life with a criminal whose legacy will haunt them for years to come. A connoisseur of secrets is undone by what he finds in a piece of lost luggage. In the wake of a tragic accident, a young man must contend with what is owed to the living and the dead. And in the award-winning story "Lagomorph," a man''s relationship with his family''s long-lived pet rabbit becomes a profound exploration of a fracturing marriage.

Muscular and tender, beautifully crafted, and alive with elemental power, Animal Person beats with raw emotion and shimmers with the complexity of our shared human experience. This collection confirms Alexander MacLeod as a modern master of the short story.