The Fate of Others: Stories

A new collection of short stories examining the extraordinary shades of ordinary life, from the prize-winning fiction writer Richard Bausch ("A master of the short story" --The New York Times Book Review) In these twelve new stories, Richard Bausch explores the passions of men and women facing unex­pected circumstances and the complications of modern life and love. In the novella "Donnaiolo," for instance, the parents of a young divorcée who has returned from Italy and a failed marriage must deal with the completely different, and unappealing, person she has become. In "Isolation," a happily married woman who has con­ceived an unexpected passion for another man learns, in lockdown during the pandemic, that this man--into whose life Bausch also gives us a window--has become ill with Covid. In a second novella, "Broken House," an elderly Catholic man recalls his part in the destruction of an old farmhouse by altar boys who believed a monk had given them permission to destroy it--while also portraying his lifelong fascination with one of the boys, a gifted artist who has carried a secret for decades about the church they both wanted to serve as priests. And in still another story, "The Widow's Tale," a woman whose recently killed husband repeatedly visits her younger sister in dreams attends a séance. Throughout The Fate of Others, Bausch once again exposes the virtues and flaws of his characters, remind­ing us, as the best stories do, of ourselves and people we know, and the lives we lead.

• | Author: Richard Bausch
• | Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• | Publication Date: May 20, 2025
• | Number of Pages: 00352 pages
• | Binding: Hardback or Cased Book
• | ISBN-10: 0593801458
• | ISBN-13: 9780593801451