num_pages: 129
description: It is always "earthquake weather" in Amy Hempel's California, a landscape where everything can change without warning. Traditional resources—home, parents, lovers, friends, even willpower—are not dependable. And so the characters in these short, compelling stories have learned to depend on small triumphs of wit, irony, and spirit.A widow, surrounded by a small menagerie, comes to terms with her veterinarian husband's death; a young woman entertains her dying friend with trivia and reaffirms her own life; in the aftermath of an abortion, a woman compulsively knits a complete wardrobe for a friend's baby. Buffeted by rude shocks, thwarted by misconnections, the characters recognize that anything can finally become a reason to live.In a tubTonight is a favor to HollyCelia is backNashville gone to ashesSan FranciscoIn the cemetery where Al Jolson is buriedBeg, Sl Tog, Inc, Cont, RepGoingPool nightThree popes walk into a barThe man in BogotáWhen it's human instead of when it's dogWhy I'm hereBreathing JesusToday will be a quiet day
language: English
title: Reasons to Live
titlecomplete: Reasons to Live
genres: 20th Century, Short Stories, American, Short Story Collection, Literary Fiction, Womens, Literature, The United States Of America, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 3188
awards: awardedAt: 473414400000
name: California Book Award
category: Fiction (Silver)
publisher: HarperPerennial