Charles Baxter

#2

What happens to American fiction in a time when villains are deprived of their villainy; when our consumer culture relentlessly insists on happy endings? In Burning Down the House, Baxter delves into the dramatic way that social and political circumstances influence the “urgent issues of storytelling.” Did Richard Nixon start a trend of dysfunctional narration that is now rife throughout fiction? Why do we seem to have forgotten the true meaning of epiphany? Burning Down the House is Baxter’s first collection of nonfiction and proves he has an equally strong gift for the art of the essay.

#3

"Eve Duncan is the most sought-after artist in the field of forensic sculpting. Dedicated to her work ever since her daughter Bonnie was taken and killed at the age of seven, Eve feels a sense of duty to those whose lives were lost and whose bones are now in her hands. When a sheriff in California contacts her with a request for help on the reconstruction of the skull of a nine-year-old girl whose body has been buried for eight years, his intensity and investment in the case puzzle her. But when the ghost of the girl begins communicating with her, Eve finds herself wrapped up in the case more intensely than she could have ever imagined. Not since Bonnie has Eve had such an experience, and suddenly she finds herself determined to solve the murder and help the little girl find peace. Except that the killer is still out there, and he knows Eve is on the case. And he won't rest until anything and anyone that could reveal his identity is eliminated.."--