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LINES

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On a foggy morning in New York City, a man and a woman are about to run into each other, literally.  Upon impact, they fall to the ground in an instinctively protective hug.  The fog dissipates, and they stare into each other’s eyes in disbelief, at the sheer magnitude of their bodily collision and their subsequent, spontaneous coupling.  They laugh.  The man, a writer, invites the woman, an artist, for coffee and they talk until lunch.  They date.  They fall in love, hard.  They marry just two months later.  And four years later, their marriage is on the precipice of disaster. 

On a foggy morning in New York City, the same man and woman pass through the fog, oblivious of each other’s existence.  Until five years later, when the writer finds an oval-shaped locket no bigger than his thumbnail, a tiny white dress painted within the boundary of its golden border. 

​LINES is about possibilities, about the choices we make – or fail to make.  It’s a star-crossed love story; it’s a bitter tragedy.  It’s about Josh and Abby and their intertwined lives, together and apart, through births and deaths and the beautiful mess in between.

Version:

On a foggy morning in New York City, a man and a woman are about to run into each other, literally.  Upon impact, they fall to the ground in an instinctively protective hug.  The fog dissipates, and they stare into each other’s eyes in disbelief, at the sheer magnitude of their bodily collision and their subsequent, spontaneous coupling.  They laugh.  The man, a writer, invites the woman, an artist, for coffee and they talk until lunch.  They date.  They fall in love, hard.  They marry just two months later.  And four years later, their marriage is on the precipice of disaster. 

On a foggy morning in New York City, the same man and woman pass through the fog, oblivious of each other’s existence.  Until five years later, when the writer finds an oval-shaped locket no bigger than his thumbnail, a tiny white dress painted within the boundary of its golden border. 

​LINES is about possibilities, about the choices we make – or fail to make.  It’s a star-crossed love story; it’s a bitter tragedy.  It’s about Josh and Abby and their intertwined lives, together and apart, through births and deaths and the beautiful mess in between.

Praise for LINES

“With its star-crossed lovers and fickle downtown art scene, Lines is a sweet, sharp-eyed New York fairytale bound to appeal to fans of smart romantic comedies. While Sung J. Woo’s deft use of his fugue structure will remind readers of Sliding Doors, his feel for Josh and Abby as they navigate their many missed connections recalls the pure, exalted yearning of Haruki Murakami.”

—Stewart O’Nan, author of Ocean State and Last Night at the Lobster

“A thoughtful exploration of the choices we make, and how one chance meeting (or lack thereof) can change your life in complicated and unexpected ways. Smart and meticulously crafted, Lines is a story that will stay with me long after finishing the last page.”

—Brenda Janowitz, author of The Liz Taylor Ring and The Grace Kelly Dress

“A witty, observant, exhilarating pleasure, with much to teach us about the complexities of loving and the complexities of living a life devoted to art.”

—Brian Morton, author of Starting Out in the Evening and Florence Gordon

 

About SUNG J. WOO

Sung J. Woo’s short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, PEN/Guernica, and Vox. His previous novels are Deep Roots (2023), Skin Deep (2020), Love Love (2015), and Everything Asian (2009). In 2022, his Modern Love essay in The New York Times was adapted by Amazon Studios for an episode of Modern Love Mumbai. He lives in Washington, New Jersey.

 

  • Genre: Fiction

    ISBN: 978-1-956692-50-1

    Publication Date: October 29, 2024

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