The Innocent and Others - Paperback

by Jerry Whitus (Author)

In these masterly crafted stories, Jerry Whitus, writes with grace and precision about the complex lives of his characters. Like Chekhov he has the ability to capture the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life, both urgent and comic. For the most part they are seeking "Restitution," which is the title of the first story. In another story, a young hunter comes upon the body of an old man, sending the boy on a dark journey to a strange house and even stranger ending. In "We Recruits in Granny Pearl's Army," a great-grandmother employs charm and a kind of sorcery to turn her six step-great-grandchildren against their parents. And in "Bible Music," a Las Vegas musician, summoned by his vulnerable father, travels home to find the beloved man entangled in a dangerous religious sect. These are deeply satisfying stories full of stunning surprises and gripping tension rarely seen in contemporary fiction.

Author Biography

Born and raised in East Texas, JERRY WHITUS studied American Literature and fiction writing in the graduate program at the University of Texas, Austin. His stories have been published in many leading literary journals, including the Chicago Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Los Angeles Review and MANOA. Before turning to fiction, he spent years as a writer specializing in film and video for education, industry, government and entertainment, winning many national awards. In addition, with an MA degree, he has been a teacher focused on writing for international students, an administrator and teacher-trainer in colleges and universities in the USA, Japan (where he also served in the US Marine Corps), Singapore, Vietnam (on a USAID grant) and Columbia. Website: jerrywhitus.wixsite.com/author.