A photographer and a restless driver cross the desert West on one last trip together. Grant Faulkner tells their story in flash fiction, set beside Gail Butensky's photographs of the road.

Readical Key Points

• A single story told in very short pieces, with photographs by Gail Butensky
• Follows two lovers, Dawn and Jonny, on a road trip across the desert West
• Addresses love, loss and grief
• Small-format hardcover from UNM Press, 98 pages, about 7.25 by 6.15 inches

Dawn photographs desert landscapes. Jonny drives for the sake of driving, restless, never sure whether he is running from the end or toward it. Their trip through open country and small, fading towns unfolds in brief, self-contained pieces, and Butensky's photographs run alongside them as a second way of telling it. The tone shifts between humor, tenderness and sorrow.

It is for readers of flash fiction and the novel in stories, and for anyone who keeps photography books within reach. Faulkner, a cofounder of 100 Word Story, builds the whole from small scenes. One last trip, told a few lines at a time, with the desert filling in the rest.

About the Author and Photographer

Grant Faulkner cofounded 100 Word Story and the Flash Fiction Institute; his books include The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story and All the Comfort Sin Can Provide. Gail Butensky's photographs have appeared on record covers and in books and magazines, and her own photography book is Every Bend.

Condition: Brand New and Readical Ready.

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