In Pacific, Tom Drury revisits the community of Grouse County, the setting of his landmark debut, The End of Vandalism. When fourteen-year-old Micah Darling travels to Los Angeles to reunite with the mother who abandoned him seven years ago, he finds himself out of his league in a land of magical freedom. Back in the Midwest, an ethereal young woman comes to Stone City on a mission that will unsettle the lives of everyone she meets-including Micah’s half-sister, Lyris, and his father, Tiny, a petty thief. An investigation into the stranger’s identity uncovers a darkly disturbed life, as parallel narratives of the comic and tragic, the mysterious and quotidian, unfold in both the country and the city. ‘A giant of American fiction … Pacific showcases a laconic talent that can go from laughter to darkness in an instant’ GUARDIAN ‘Pacific is a terrific book, and a strange one, as strange as the world and the great literature that helps us make our way through it.’ New York Times Book Review ‘A wonder of modern fiction’ INDEPENDENT ‘The always fresh perspective of this one-of-a-kind writer will have you responding like his character who “laughed with surprise in her heart .’ KIRKUS REVIEWS ‘Drury gives his characters the sharpest dialogue I’ve read in some time. He’s interested in people, their odd decisions and their strange perceptions about everyday things… . Drury never loses focus… Each new character [he] introduces plucks an intricate web, and the reverberations are felt far and wide. On the surface, Pacific is a disarmingly plain tale about people managing loss. But look closer, and you’ll see it’s as deep as the ocean it’s named after. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE