Any Other Place

"There is not a wasted word in these thirteen taut and thrilling stories of grief, exile, and devotion." —Silas House, author of Southernmost A Korean woman in rural Kentucky clings to the love found in her new marriage as the mountain above her washes away. A dutiful daughter struggles to help her father navigate their shared grief—and the sudden release of dangerous, exotic animals. A new father driven by his pride confronts Japanese soldiers in a harrowing raid on his home. In his debut collection, Michael Croley takes us from the Appalachian regions of rural Kentucky and Ohio to a village in South Korea in thirteen engaging stories in which characters find themselves, wherever they are, in states of displacement. In these settings, Croley guides his characters to some semblance of home, where they circle each other's pain, struggle to find belonging, and make sense of the mistakes and bad breaks that have brought them there. Croley uses his absorbing prose to uncover his characters’ hidden disquiet and to bring us a remarkable and unique collection that expands the scope of modern American literature.