Out There: a novel - Softcover

Stark, Sarah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0991410505 ISBN 13: 9780991410507

Publisher: Leaf Storm Press, 2014

Synopsis

A Publishers Weekly Top Book of the Year
INDIEFAB Editor's Choice Award for Fiction Book of the Year

"lyrical, evocative"and "sensuous"..."A tribute to magical realism and the transforming power of fiction."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Compelling...beautiful...and gripping..."-Huffington Post

"...a glowing road trip of magical realism."-Pasatiempo Magazine of Arts & Culture

"5 out of 5 STARS!"-Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"The prose is lyrical, the detail sumptuous, the story is humorous and heartbreaking, gorgeous and flirting with the line between magic and realism. It's a story that explores the innate power of literature: to connect, to heal, to transform."
-Foreword Reviews editor, Allyce Amidon, in her remarks at the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards at the American Library Association Conference (June 2015)

OUT THERE is the story of a young Army veteran (Jefferson Long Soldier) who returns home safely to New Mexico after two tours of duty in Iraq convinced that the book he carried with him (One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez) saved his life. But when he can't find a way to escape the dark memories of war, he borrows his cousin's motorcycle and rides south across the border to Mexico in search of the famous writer behind the magic of the life-saving classic novel. The adventure that follows is a heart-warming journey of healing and self-discovery. Humorous, redemptive and awash in magic realism, Out There is a beautiful homage to Gabriel García Márquez and a celebration of books that have a made a difference in our lives. It is the book that's being called "The Catcher in the Rye" for the Iraq/Afghan War generation.

About this title

About the Author:

Sarah Stark is a former policy analyst who wrote about international security issues, including nuclear non-proliferation and peacekeeping. For the last fourteen years she has made her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she currently teaches literature and creative writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). Her first novel Out There is Winner of Foreword’s Book of the Year Awards INDIEFAB 2014 Editor’s Choice Prize for Fiction.

Review:

"In this lyrical, evocative novel, Stark summons the possibility of salvation in tragedy. Iraq war veteran Jefferson Long Soldier returns home with a wounded soul and a copy of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, which he carried with him through combat and credits for saving his life. But when neither family nor a psychologist can help ease his transition to civilian life, Jefferson journeys by motorbike across Mexico in search of salvation and the reclusive García Márquez. A tribute to magical realism and the transforming power of fiction, Stark's novel juxtaposes violence and gentleness and merges logic with sensuous atmosphere to question the boundaries of reality. Jefferson's struggle for peace reveals an existence as fluid and magical as a dream but with consequences." ---Publishers Weekly (starred review)

How would Jefferson Long Soldier, the returning Iraq War veteran and central character of Sarah Stark's novel Out There (Leaf Storm Press), have taken last week's news of the passing of Gabriel García Márquez? Márquez is Long Soldier's savior and the object of his motorcycle pilgrimage from Santa Fe to Mexico City. He carries Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude with him wherever he goes and believes every single word in it has saved his life.... What follows is a glowing road-trip of magical realism. Stark shows love for the revered writer in both knowledge of his work and reflection of his style. ---(Bill Kohlhaase) Santa Fe New Mexican

About this edition

• Publisher: Leaf Storm Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0991410505
• ISBN 13: 9780991410507
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284