We Live in Water: Stories

Amazing collection; probably the best I've read this year. I've read other of Jess Walter's work--Citizen Vince--and also a story from this collection, Anything Helps, which was featured in Best American 2012. Walter's a prodigious talent, and I'm not trying to sound like a book critic here ('cause I'm not). Most of these stories are heartbreaking; a few are very funny. They're all gorgeous.

These stories run true - manage to come across as real and surreal, all at once. "Don't eat cat" could be made into a highly successful feature film, what with today's rampant zombie fixation. Heart-breaking, depressing and intriguing all at once. Like a car wreck- you don't want to see, but you can't look away...Jess Walter is one to watch.

With this story collection, it's clear that we're no longer at the Hotel Adequate View with Jess Walter. I loved Beautiful Ruins and think it showed the incredible range of Walter's writing ability, but these stories show mainly gritty realism, those broken and dispossessed, maladjusted and malfunctional. Some of these stories are very short, too short for me to understand the characters in any depth. Some of them also end very abruptly, which left me with the feeling that they were more verbal "descriptions" than stories. With the last story, "Statistical Abstract For My Home Town, Spokane, Washington", Walter does a good job tying the collection together. While We Live in Water is perfectly adequate, it's just not my personal favorite from Jess Walter.

Jess Walter's short stories read like more fully-realized versions of those in Johnson's "Jesus' Son." While I love that book as well, it is but a character study by comparison.

The final story, "A Statistical Abstract for My Home of Spokane, Washington" is an amazing creation.

Marvelous.

But they do provoke thought. I think Can of Corn struck me the most. A very short story but really thought provoking. A quick book that I picked up for the locale (my husband's from Spokane) but was pleasantly surprised by the good stories.

I enjoyed some of the short stories in this book- but some left me hanging or wondering about more of the story. I read for the pleasure of reading at night and this collection only met my expectations some of the time.

Thoroughly enjoyed the stories. A quick snapshot of towns in the northwest. Very current. Some of the characters reminded me of people I' d seen but never talked too. I always wanted know how they got to that point in there lives.

Walter's ability to convey mood, setting and character using few words is impressive. These are little stories about large ideas and emotions. Many of the stories are joyful and bleak at the same time; quite a trick. A wonderful collection.

I was actually quite surprised at how much I liked this book. I bought it by accident. When I saw it at a bookstore, I thought it was one on my book list which I didn't have with me. It wasn't. And I don't like short stories. So, it sat on my bookshelf for a long time before I picked it up because I needed something small to carry with me to my husband's oncology appointments. I fully intended to leave it in the waiting room after his appointment. But I so enjoyed the stories. The stories were very cleverly put together, not the usual narrative, and I enjoy minimal information. I don't like a lot of fluff or descriptions. However, -- spoiler alert -- I'd really like to know who was stealing the money. As a child, I took some change from my dad's dresser. He lined us up and said he wouldn't punish the person who took it but he wanted it back. I have to say that shamed me enough not to ever take something that doesn't belong to me. The parent missed an opportunity to teach the child about stealing. And I'd certainly like to know why they were taking money from the vacation fund.

This is about the most depressing book I have ever read. The characters are worse than forgetable - they make you wish that you had never met them. I purchased the book because it was about the Pacific Northwest, which I love, and the cover was intriguing. What a mistake!.

Jess Walter's stories make me think of Donald Ray Pollock mixed with a dash of George Saunders. Many of Walter's Spokane-based characters are on the fringes of society. Walter writes about a homeless philosopher-beggar who, on good days, spends his money on a book instead of booze and asks his group counselor why he can't talk about his ideas instead of all of the stupid things he's done. He writes about an inmate who, released on a temporary pass to get dialysis, would rather go fishing. He writes about a tweaker who must choose between food and drugs.

Yet when Walter writes of these broken lives, he does so with such sensitivity that it's impossible not to identify with the characters -- with what they feel, if not with how they live. As one of his characters says, "Who isn't crazy sometimes?" His characters may be more extreme than most, but their unchecked behavior sheds light on thoughts and feelings that are buried within us all.

In a couple of stories, the narrator is living a conventional woe-filled life (divorce, career failure) but the story's focus is on a character from the fringe. The narrator of the title story (one of my favorites in the collection) has problems, but the largest of them is the hole in his life left by the father he doesn't remember, the father who left his son in a car when he inside a building to deal with a trifecta of trouble. Another story begins with the sentence "I'm on my way to Vegas with my friend, Bobby Rausch, to save his stepsister from a life of prostitution." In that story, a character's life is clearly headed for disaster, but it isn't the unfortunate stepsister.

Some stories are about relatively functional people who are a little off. A young man, ill-equipped for fatherhood but with high hopes for his three children, becomes obsessed with discovering which one is stealing from the coin jar that constitutes the family's meager vacation fund. A day trader sentenced to community service teaches algebra to high school kids and reads the same story to the same grade schooler every day. A stalker's job as a newspaper editor puts him in a position to mess with his ex-girlfriend's horoscope.

Sometimes Walter writes about people who do the right thing, like the mechanic who refuses to rip off an old lady. On the other hand, one of my favorite stories, a work of small genius, teaches that you never really know who you can trust.

"Don't Eat Cat" is a departure, a humorous take on zombie stories -- after the borders are closed, the fast food/finance industry has to rely on zombies to fill service jobs -- although it is, in the end, a tragicomedy. (It isn't the only departure ... the story about saving the stepsister from life as a prostitute is pretty funny, another instance of humor in a serious vein.)

Although the stories expose the rawness of life, they also expose the humanity that is common to us all. Not many writers can perform that balancing act with the deftness Walter displays in this collection.

“We Live in Water”, short stories by Jess Walter enthralled me and I gobbled them up in one sitting and then went on line and ordered his novels. And I’m not generally a fan of short stories, but each and every one of these is great.

I was immediately drawn in by the first one, “Anything Helps” about a homeless man. It challenges all our assumptions. My favorite was “Thief” about a father trying to find out if one of his kids is stealing from the family vacation fund; it’s both hilarious and poignant. And “Helpless Little Things” about a con man/drug dealer would make a great movie. “Don’t Eat Cat” is set in a future dystopia when addiction to a certain drug turns people into zombies “but you aren’t supposed to call them that”. It’s darkly funny and also disturbing.

One of the highest praises I can give a writer is to compare them to Richard Russo, and I do so here. Walter has a similar sense of humor and the subject matter: men messing up their lives, runs through most of these stories.

When you are an English Major who loves to read and to write book reviews, you are often asked: “Why don’t you write something?” and the answer is because of writers like Jess Walter…I read stories like these, so much better than anything I could ever hope to write, and I know I should stick to READING.

The only thing bad about this collection is that it’s over too soon.

Jess Walter's short stories, many of which originally appeared in publications like Harper's, McSweeney's and Playboy, have now been collected in a single volume for the first time. Walter, whose novels include CITIZEN VINCE and the National Book Award-winning THE ZERO, displays the same kind of fearless, unflinching prose in these short stories.

Walter's stories are populated with the kind of people who are largely invisible in life, let alone in fiction. These are people at the end of their rope, people whose histories have left them unable to trust others, who see hope slipping away. In "Thief," a father suspects that one of his children is stealing from the family's vacation fund. In "Wheelbarrow Kings," two meth addicts desperate to score set out on a fool's errand, carting an enormous television to a pawn shop, only to encounter disappointment rather than the massive riches they expect.

Most of the characters in these stories, however, are in search not of their next fix but of a sort of connection --- to themselves, their pasts, some kind of imagined future. In "The New Frontier," a man accompanies an old friend to Las Vegas to "rescue" his friend's sister from a certain life of prostitution, only to discover that the woman --- not to mention her brother --- have unexpected secrets. In "Virgo," a horoscope writer takes revenge on his ex-girlfriend --- and indulges his stalker fantasies --- in the pages of the paper. Even in "Don't Eat Cat," Walter's zombie story, a man ventures deep into Z-Town to find his former girlfriend who willingly chose a zombie existence.

The stories are set largely in the Pacific Northwest, from Portland and Seattle to the grungier parts of Idaho and Walter's hometown of Spokane. Although these working-class cities --- even their seediest, poorest neighborhoods and inhabitants --- are depicted here warts and all, it's clear that Walter has an intimate understanding and even a genuine affection for these people and places.

In "Statistical Abstract for My Hometown," which is told in the form of a list, Walter sums up his attitude toward Spokane, writing, "I think there are only two things you can do with your hometown: look for ways to make it better, or look for another place to live." He also calls out the reader who may be uncomfortable with reading or thinking about these poor, crime-ridden places, pointing out that many people --- perhaps himself included at one time --- hate places just because they're poor. Walter may not have the capability to single-handedly change the places about which he writes, but he can and does help readers see and begin to understand them.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl

We Live in Water
By Jess Walter
2013, Harper Collins
Review by Debra L Scott, 3/18/2013

Short Story collections can go good or bad. Jess Walter has put together a collection that is all good. Not that the stories are feel-good, or comfortable, or even have happy endings. They are well-written good. The subject matter may be disturbing for yuppie, ivory tower types but will ring true for those who call the streets home or walk the streets as a profession. it's about human choices; choices that needed to be made that might seem wrong to most, or those who simply did what they must because life didn't give them any other choice. There are also those who try new choices, and those who no longer choose. It's about expectations, and why the phrase 'did not meet expectations' sits on a midline, with reality falling both below and above the line.

The book cover for We Live In Water, is of a flooded town with a school bus submerged to the top of its windows. One might expect, as I did, stories about the Katrina disaster or even Hurricane Sandy. It's not. It is about the substrata of American life that most of us prefer to thrust back into the deep nether regions of our consciousness. "Oh I get it," you say, "so it's going to be about the poor downtrodden sop in the gutter and how miserable his life is?" Wrong again. Walter writes the story between the lines, the one you don't see as you dole out a buck to a panhandler or wrinkle your nose at the compulsive gambler. Do you think those needle marks on the junkie's arm will never be yours, or picture a work-release prisoner in a road crew picking up trash? Jess Walter's stories are the ones these unfortunates tell each other, the only people that will comprehend why life went that way.

About the cover art, there is some water involved somewhere, but it's not what you think.

WE LIVE IN WATER

Jess Walter is the man. This guy can write -- about anything -- and as the reader you can relate. Sure, his short stories are dark, depressing, filled with doom and gloom. But you just gotta love these stories and the characters dwelling within. These characters are REAL -- yes, most of the characters are people you would rather not be associated with, people you may see in public and balk at. But Walter makes them simply shine and introduces us to their lives, their hopes, shattered dreams, and daily routines. This is an excellent book of short stories; one of the best I have probably ever read.

There are a total of thirteen short stories, some only a few pages long. The number of pages included in a story doesn't matter with Walter -- his words are tight, precise, hard-hitting. He can say more in one sentence, make his point quickly, sharply, and clearly. While each story is a dark, inky, shadowy cloud, there is always a silver-lining peaking out. Walter also writes with humor, much wit, and seasons his words with a comedic flair These stories simply rock and rock hard.

A few stand-outs for this reader were --

THIEF

A family of five has a vacation fund and father Wayne realizes someone in the family is stealing from the jar they keep in the closet. His attempts to find the bandit, along with his descriptions of his children, make for a great down-to-earth story that is also very, very funny.

CAN A CORN

A super short story, much is said in a few pages. This story tells about a prisoner, Ken, receiving dialysis and his stepson, Tommy, taking him to receive this treatment. This story pulled the strings of my heart as we learn how one day turned out for both men.

And these are just two -- so many more to enjoy. And you will.

All of these stories are extremely well written. While Walter's shorts are basically about those who are down and out, some of the characters have such redeeming qualities. Jess Walter has such a talent to make his characters so darned real and human. He also has the talent of making you think about what you have just read and enjoyed, replaying stories and scenarios over and over in your mind.

Yes, the book is filled with vulgar language and sometimes uncomfortable situations. However, while reading these stories you will see that both the uneasy and edgy story lines and lingo are warranted.

Do I recommend WE LIVE IN WATER to you? Most definitely, yes. If you enjoy short stories, you will love these. If you have ever read Jess Walter [BEAUTIFUL RUINS, THE ZERO, LAND OF THE BLIND] then you know what I am talking about. This book is a winner and one that you should read NOW.

Thank you.

Pam

Jess Walter’s first short story collection is a fascinating look at contemporary American society, with a focus on the Pacific North-West region, in the wake of the stock market crash of 2008 and how people, who were already struggling before the economic downturn, are faring now. It’s by turns gritty and tragic as well as clever, compelling and unexpectedly humorous.

Walter is a native of Spokane, Washington, a small town that’s never been particularly prosperous - how do I know this? The final story of the collection (or is it the only nonfiction piece?), Statistical Abstract for My Hometown of Spokane, Washington, is the best contribution of the book. Experimenting with a factual layout, Walter puts across various stats that make up a rugged view of his home while also including stories that provide a snapshot of what living there is like.

Suffice it to say, it’s an unflattering portrait, with beaten women dragging bawling children to shelters from abusive boyfriends or husbands, addicts making deals in public places in daylight hours, rampant unemployment, and house prices at a much lower rate than elsewhere in the country. And yet a sense of fondness for the place comes across as well - that there’s a reason why Walter’s stayed there his whole life, chosen to raise his own family there and that there’s good mixed in amongst the misery too.

It’s this tone that pervades the collection. Stories like Anything Helps where a homeless, alcoholic father begs and saves up enough cash to buy a copy of the latest Harry Potter book for his estranged son, who’s living with a Christian foster family, only for his son to reject it (Harry Potter is un-Christian!), carry with them a sense of sadness - and hope. Wheelbarrow Kings follows a pair of tweakers who haul a giant TV in a broken wheelbarrow to a pawn shop, hoping it’ll score them a couple hundred bucks so they can eat AND use, only for them to find out giant tube TVs are worthless these days. But for all their wasted effort, they still manage to laugh about their stupid day. These are people who are down but not out.

The message of the book seems to be that kindness and empathy are qualities missing from society today. People don’t treat the downtrodden of society like the human beings they are and choose to ignore them. The one exception in this collection being the excellent and funny Helpless Little Things where a con artist gets cheated out of his livelihood and gets sent to prison for taking pity on one of his workers for the first time in his life, kind of like if the Artful Dodger cheated Fagin.

Beyond creating a thematic connection between the pieces, the most important quality any short fiction collection should have is compelling stories, and We Live In Water has plenty of those. The New Frontier follows a man who joins his friend on a mission to go to Vegas and rescue his stepsister from prostitution, a plan that goes awry and turns out to be something completely other; Virgo features a crazy editor whose girlfriend dumps him so he rigs the horoscope section of the newspaper to constantly have bad news for his girlfriend’s star sign; and Don’t Eat Cat is set in a dystopian future where fast food outlets and banks join together to form the dominant corporation that runs the world and people willingly take drugs to become actual zombies!

As entertaining as the stories are, Walter writes about the lives of his characters with convincing detail. The narrator of Wheelbarrow Kings is constantly going through his mind how much money he needs to get high and get some fast food; the convicted banker’s behaviour of The Wolf and the Wild is as arrogant as you’d expect of someone with millions in his bank account even after serving jail time, but his attempt at redemption in the end also feels real; and Oren, the bad father of We Live in Water, for all his silly behaviour, has a genuine moment of crushing reality that lifts his story up. He goes back for his young son despite knowing that it assures his doom.

Like every short story collection, not all of the stories here are brilliant, but most of them here are. The majority of the stories are thoughtful, sensitive portraits of real people at defining moments of their lives and they are absolutely compelling to read. Jess Walter is an outstanding writer (I highly recommend his novels Citizen Vince and The Financial Lives of the Poets) and We Live In Water is a wonderful must-read collection of humanistic and darkly humorous stories.

We live in Water
written by Jess Walter
A book review.

His sixth book. A debut collection of thirteen fiction short stories, including his best sellers, Beautiful Ruins and The Financial Loves of the Poets. The title of the book "We live in Water," taken from one of the stories.
A talented, frank and gifted writer, that can sense the meat of a story.
In the book... from the vicinity of Spokane, Washington the authors home town, every character has a hard luck story to tell. A wife, a girlfriend, a friends sister, kids. Everyone is down on their luck. There seems to be no happiness anywhere, except from the little things in life, such as fish & chips, playing blackjack and winning, reading a story to a child, visitation rights. Simple things.
Humorous in parts, sad in others. Life in the raw.
It took me to places, I've been. Experienced many of the same things. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
Easy reading. Can be effortlessly read in one sitting. I'd give it two thumbs up and 5 stars.
If you are into the human condition. These stories are for you.

Michael Estey

Did you enjoy Jess Walter's alternatingly invigorating and poignantly written Beautiful Ruins? I did, so I took a chance on this collection of his previously published short stories and was not disappointed.

Set in the Pacific Northwest, the book portrays with humor and empathy the lives of characters living on the edge, or who have actually having fallen off it, and who are driven to distraction or desperation for a variety of reasons. Why would one want to read stories featuring mainly sociopaths,drug and alcohol addicts, and other undesirables? For one, it's a change of scenery from the too frequent setting of Park Slope, Brooklyn or its equivalent. And also, you are both amused and intrigued by how these characters cope with issues we all share in common, but from the perspective of someone living in compromised circumstances.

As with all modern short stories, the tales aren't neatly wrapped up with clear resolutions, but force the reader to extrapolate the progression of the story and the point to be made. Some stories are a page or two and some much longer. All are entertaining, but don't expect happy transformations.

This description of the tone of the book may make it sound like a downer, but it most empathically is not due to Walter's engaging style and clever story telling.

I originally read Jess Walter's amazing novel, "Beautiful Ruins" and loved it, so I thought I would try this collection of short stories. Short stories is my favorite genre, so I was excited to see what a bright young author like Walter had to offer. Several of the stories definitely show Walter's skills in developing strong, mostly marginalized characters. While all of the stories are worth reading, the standouts for me are Anything Helps, We Live in Water, and Wheelbarrow Kings.
As much as this is a collection of short stories about people, it is a collection about a place, Spokane, Washington. Many of the reviews I have read describe the stories as dreary or depressing, but I didn't get that feeling at all. While certainly the stories are filled with characters and locations that might not get much representation in popular literature, "We Live in Water" shows the daily struggles and the catharsis in small victories. It is clear through the writing that Walter has an affinity for both his hometown and the characters who inhabit it. The Prodigals

I liked the vignettes and took in the emotions, and tried to imagine the author that reveals himself on the last chapter. I was not disappointed, only happy there are people that observe the everyday poor devils and make art out of their misery, that make them sound important and with their own special place to our world.
Thank you Jess.

Quick read. The people are damaged, the world is dark, the stories are, largely, sad. The characters in these stories have made bad choices, or are at the end of their chances. In spite of their general undesirability, I found that I cared what happened to them and enjoyed hearing their voices. Simply wonderful.

Jess Walter is one of America's best, most diverse storytellers and We Live in Water is an excellent book for those readers who have yet to dive into Water's brilliant novels such as Beautiful Ruins and Citizen Vince. A fine collection, highly recommended.

I almost skipped this because it was "short stories" which I usually avoid. I'm glad I didn't this was one of the best reads. With Jess Walter it is hard to pick a favorite because they are all so good.

This was my first introduction to Mr. Walter's work and I simply loved it. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys terrific, original fiction that is entertaining, a little sad, and tragically funny in all the right ways.