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New York Times Notable Book
Finalist Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Finalist Asian American Literary Award
Peter Ho Davies’s award-winning debut collection, THE UGLIEST HOUSE IN THE WORLD, drew comparisons to the work of Raymond Carver, James Joyce, and V. S. Naipaul. The Washington Post hailed it as “astounding . . . Davies has left a unique, definitive footprint in the soil of contemporary short fiction.” In his new collection, Davies’s unforgettable characters — a Chinese son gambling with professional mourners, a mixed-race couple who experience a close encounter — strive for a love that transcends time, race, and sexuality. These are the stories of a sandwich generation — children of one century, adults of the next — caught between debts to their parents and what they owe their own offspring. Shot through with humor and grace, EQUAL LOVE confirms Davies’s reputation as one of his generation’s foremost writers.
Praise
“These stories are as deep and clear as myths”
— New York Times Book Review
“I read EQUAL LOVE with great admiration. Davies’ variations onnnnnn a theme are brilliant, with very complex feelings, often indicated by seemingly small actions, so that the comparison with Joyce’s PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN is justified (for once).”
—Penelope Fitzgerald, author of THE BLUE FLOWER, THE BOOKSHOP, etc.
“Peter Ho Davies’ stories stand out in contemporary fiction for their clarity, wisdom, and compassion. They are beautifully written, filled with a kind of intelligence and generosity of temperament that is neither square nor predictable.”
—Charles Baxter, author of BELIEVERS, FIRST LIGHT, and HARMONY OF THE WORLD
“The best thing about Peter Ho Davies stories is not his extraordinary language (it’s gorgeous), or his complicated plotlines (they’re so tight and perfect, they’re undetectable), or his characters (varied and real and lovely). It’s not even his wild and realized ambition. The best thing is that every one of the stories in Equal Love is its own world, touching and funny and completely different from the last, and satisfying in a new way. He can do anything, and he does.”
—Elizabeth McCracken, author of THE GIANT’S HOUSE and HERE’S YOUR HAT WHAT’S YOUR HURRY