The Presence of Absence

“Flows with depth and power....wide—open wonder.”—Washington Post

“Simon Van Booy electrifyingly combines story with parable....wise, witty and always breathtakingly beautiful.”—San Francisco Chronicle, Best Fiction of the Year

As a writer lies dying, he has one last story to tell: a tale of faith and devotion, a meditation on what lies beyond this life, and a prayer of gratitude that may lead to rebirth. This is Simon Van Booy at his visionary best.

“Language is a map leading to a place not...