Welding with Children

A master storyteller's triumphant, moving short fiction collection about lost souls, found love, and rediscovered tradition. "Gautreaux's offbeat characters and infectious storyteller's tone put you in mind of Eudora Welty in a John Deere cap, or maybe Flannery O'Connor before she got religion. . . . Whatever direction this greatly talented writer turns to next, you'll want to follow him every step of the way." — Kirkus Reviews Tim Gautreaux returns to the form that won him his first fans, with tales of family, sin, and redemption: from a man who realizes his grandchildren are growing up without any sense of right or wrong, and he's to blame; to a camera repairman who uncovers a young woman's secret in the undeveloped film she brings him; to a one-armed hitch-hiker who changes the life of the man who gives her a ride. Each one a small miracle of storytelling and compassion, these stories in  Welding with Children are a joyous confirmation of Tim Gautreaux's rare and generous talent. "Insightful and delightful stories from the heart of Cajun country. . . . Gautreaux has mastered the illusion of letting a story flow in such a natural way that it seems to tell itself. His economy of language is truly impressive as he creates realistic, multifaceted characters and complex situations in the space of a few pages. . . . Highly recommended." — Library Journal "Move Garrison Keilor's Lake Wobegon stories to Louisiana, add heat and Tabasco, and the result would be  Welding With Children ." — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Gautreaux has perfect pitch . . . it's his fiction's coarse incongruities—epitomized by the book's title—that prove the limitless possibilities of limited geography." — The New York Times Book Review