TRANSIT by J.D. Smith
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Transit, J.D. Smith’s debut fiction collection, ranges from Central Mexico to the Asian side of Istanbul, with stops in Houston, Chicago and Washington, DC. Working in flash fiction, the traditional short story and a series of linked stories, Smith takes on race, ethnic identity, class and disability, along with the power dynamics of how they play out in everyday life. He also skewers the pretensions of those who think they are—somehow—above the fray.
Heartbreak leads to a drunken foray into vigilante justice, and the stresses that underlie achievement in high school come to light. A brick from a nineteenth-century city hall in Illinois finds a new place in twenty-first century Texas. Commerce shapes character, but not without resistance. Smith's fictional world has more than a little in common with other parts of the world—what some continue to call the “real world,” with all its sham and venality. Decisions made in a moment, with incomplete information and uncertain judgment, have permanent consequences. The sins of the fathers are indeed visited upon both sons and daughters.
With intelligence and compassion, as well as illuminating flashes of wit, Smith shows us how character, faith and sheer guesswork collide with circumstance. If Flannery O'Connor and Mickey Spillane had spawned a love child—whose godparents included Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges—it would look a lot like Transit.
BOOK DETAILS
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-956692-43-3
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Heartbreak leads to a drunken foray into vigilante justice, and the stresses that underlie achievement in high school come to light. A brick from a nineteenth-century city hall in Illinois finds a new place in twenty-first century Texas. Commerce shapes character, but not without resistance. Smith's fictional world has more than a little in common with other parts of the world—what some continue to call the “real world,” with all its sham and venality. Decisions made in a moment, with incomplete information and uncertain judgment, have permanent consequences. The sins of the fathers are indeed visited upon both sons and daughters.
With intelligence and compassion, as well as illuminating flashes of wit, Smith shows us how character, faith and sheer guesswork collide with circumstance. If Flannery O'Connor and Mickey Spillane had spawned a love child—whose godparents included Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges—it would look a lot like Transit.
BOOK DETAILS
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-956692-43-3
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Praise for J.D. Smith
“The stories in J.D. Smith’s TRANSIT are gloriously disconcerting, beautifully ominous, and utterly, perfectly strange. By turns soft then sage then savage, these are tales of the unforeseen, histories written upon lore and rogue rumor. Nothing is on the nose; every story takes place to the side of itself. These are provocative narratives told plainly, unburdened of apologetics or sanctimony. And undergirding the entirety of this collection is a lyricism that's as poised and deliberate as it is sinister. I wish I'd written this book.”
Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of Hausfrau
"Old meets new, Noir meets innocence, as JD Smith's prose travels through time and space, real and imagined, looking not so much for truth as to dispel the daily injustices and intolerances of our lives."
Sue Guiney, author of Tangled Roots, A Clash of Innocents, and Out of the Ruins
With TRANSIT, J. D. Smith, renowned poet, essayist, and lifelong storyteller, is in top form, which is saying quite a lot. Smith has always painted with words and in this collection of quirky, clever, and incisive stories he’s created landscapes that are at once familiar and alien, evocative and surprising, and always engaging. The characters that populate TRANSIT are, in their own everyday way, explorers, observers, chroniclers, and through their emotions, conflicts, and experiences Smith reveals often hidden truths about human nature and shines a light on the darkest regions of the soul.
Page after page, Smith draws the reader into tales that are both beautiful and unsettling. The fourteen stories that make up TRANSIT play out like a series of snapshots that demand to be studied more deeply. Smith has the rare ability to break your heart and make you laugh, sometimes in a single sentence. TRANSIT is a collection of tremendous insight and absolute clarity. These stories will linger in the reader’s heart and mind long after the final page has been read.
Henry Perez
Bestselling Author of Killing Red and Mourn the Living
Travel with J.D. Smith’s fascinating characters as they journey to new places, new relationships, new understanding of who they are and how they got there. These stories are quirky, varied, imaginative, and a delight to read.
Pat Valdata, author of Crosswind, Eve’s Daughters, and The Other Sister
"The 25 sharply drawn stories in J.D. Smith's wonderful new collection TRANSIT come on quietly, then build deftly to moments of unexpected revelation or wonder that resonate long after one puts the volume down."
Pete Duval, author of The Deposition and Rear View
Devotees of JD Smith’s poetry will find much of his trademark wit, erudition, and dazzling precision in his debut collection of fiction, TRANSIT. But the remarkable shapes and styles of the stories within allow for explorations of new and startling themes, dizzying plots, and enduring characters. Upon closing the last page of TRANSIT, my only question was why did JD make me wait so long for this ineffable book?
Tom Williams, author of Don’t Start Me Talkin’ and Among the Wild Mulattos and Other Tales