The Summer We Ate Off the China

<p class=ql-align-justify><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(33 37 41 1)>An immaculate conception triggers an armed response. A mother chases away her son's imaginary friend only to lament her absence. A new hire visited by his company's wellness consultant feels his sanity unraveling. A Norwich terrier recounts three generations of family trauma unaware that he is on the way to be put down.</span></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(33 37 41 1)>The thirteen stories of this follow-up to </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(33 37 41 1)>Breath Like the Wind at Dawn</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(33 37 41 1)> Jacobsen's astonishing debut (Alastair Mabbott </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(33 37 41 1)>The Herald</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(33 37 41 1)>) unfold across an array of settings and times shifting fluidly between registers and vernaculars to explore loss in its myriad forms and along the way unearthing empathy for characters who range from endearing to indefensible.</span></p><p></p>