From Jess Walter, the bestselling author of <i>Beautiful Ruins, </i>comes <i>We Live in Water - </i>a darkly funny, utterly compelling collection of stories about the American family.<i>We Live in Water </i>brings to vivid life a world of lost fathers and redemptive con men, of personal struggles and diminished dreams, a world marked by the wry wit and generosity of spirit that has made Jess Walter one of America's most talked-about writers. In 'Thief', a blue-collar worker turns unlikely detective to find out which of his kids is stealing from the family vacation fund. In 'We Live in Water', a lawyer returns to a corrupt North Idaho town to find the father who disappeared thirty years earlier. In 'Anything Helps', a homeless man has to 'go to cardboard' to raise enough money to buy his son the new Harry Potter book. In 'Virgo', a local newspaper editor tries to get back at his superstitious ex-girlfriend by screwing with her horoscope. The final story transforms slyly from a portrait of Walter's hometown into a moving contemplation of our times.<i></i>'A ridiculously talented writer' <i>The New York Times</i><i></i>'One of my favourite young American writers' Nick Hornby'Darkly funny, sneakily sad, these stories are very, very good' <i>Publisher's Weekly</i><i></i>'A witty and sobering snapshot of recession-era America' <i>Kirkus</i><i></i> Jess Walter is the author of six novels, including <i>The Financial Lives of the Poets</i>, published by Penguin. <i>Beautiful Ruins</i> was a number one <i>New York Times </i>bestseller. <i>We Live in Water </i>is his first collection of short fiction. Jess Walter lives in Spokane, Washington with his family. He is currently writing for Radio 4.