Edited by Mark Budman and Susan O'Neill
Ooligan Press
3/1/2022, paperback
SKU: 9781947845305
The line between imagination and reality blurs in these forty poignant pieces written by first- and second-generation immigrant authors.
This flash fiction anthology examines the experiences of being a transplant in a foreign land and looks critically at what it means to forsake tongues, traditions, and comforts in the hope of starting a new life in another world. These stories push readers to expand their understanding of the world beyond their own front doors.
The collection contains forty affecting works written by several multigenerational immigrant authors from countries around the world, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Cuba, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldavia, Morocco, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam.
Regardless of their origin, all share the experience of putting down roots in new soil and examining how adapting to new lives and lands impacts the characters' understanding of themselves and their community. The stories are organized into four parts: Past the Limits of the Familiar, The Change is Slow, Inheriting the Earth, and Tired of Waiting for Home. At a thousand words or fewer, every vignette redefines resilience and the meaning of home.
Reviews:
"Unique, eclectic, emotional...A highly recommended read that helps one understand the complexities of individuals who make up the cultural mosaic of a country." --Christine Ho Younghusband, University of Northern British Columbia
"An artfully arranged collection of masterful stories that resonate with the essential truths of our time." --Dzvinia Orlowsky, author of Bad Harvest and Silvertone
About the Editors:
Mark Budman is first generation immigrant to the US. He is an engineer by training but works as a medical interpreter. His fiction has appeared in Catapult, Witness, World Literature Today, and elsewhere. He is the author of the novel My Life at First Try, published by Counterpoint, and is the co-editor of anthologies published by Ooligan Press, Persea, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (China), and University of Chester (UK).
Susan O'Neill is the author of two books: the fiction collection Don't Mean Nothing (Ballantine Books, UMass Press, and Serving House Books), and a slim volume of mostly humorous short essays, Calling New Delhi for Free (Peace Corps Writers Books). She co-edited Vestal Review, the oldest continuously-running journal for flash fiction, from its beginnings in 2000 until 2020, and has published stories and essays in a fair number of literary magazines, virtual and print. She was nominated for the Pushcart twice, in fiction and in nonfiction.