Willy Vlautin Collection

The Motel Life explores the frustration and failed dreams of two brothers on the run after a hit-and-run accident.  Northline follows a young woman who, haunted by the mistakes of her past, flees Las Vegas for Reno, intent on making a new life for herself. In Lean on Pete, a newly orphaned fifteen—year-old boy struggling to make his way befriends a failing race horse and together they go on a journey to find a long lost relative who just might give him a home. In The Free, the lives of three memorable characters--a nurse, an Iraqi war vet, and a father--intersect as they confront issues including the cost of health care, the lack of economic opportunities, and the devastating scars of war as they look for meaning in distressing times.

Through these novels, this "major realist talent" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) illuminate the disquiet of modern American life captured through the experiences of ordinary people in difficult times, and provides a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.