Direct Sunlight

"Christine Sneed's inimitable eye for detail, beautiful writing, hauntingly complex characters, and trademark humor shine in these brilliant, moving stories. Direct Sunlight is everything a short-story collection should be." —J. Ryan Stradal, author of Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

“Christine Sneed is a master storyteller, and Direct Sunlight dazzles as an example of her ability to illuminate the intricacies of relationships and longing. Her stories are glorious in their empathy and honesty, teasing out the nuanced bonds between family, friends, and lovers. Funny, profound, and moving, this collection reminds us of our humanity, of the beautiful vulnerability and tenderness we can extend to one another. Read this brilliant book now. It will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page." —Dana Johnson, author of Elsewhere, California and In the Not Quite Dark 

“This beautifully written, emotionally rich, engrossing third collection by Christine Sneed firmly establishes her as a master of the form. I was awed, story after story, by the range of her subjects and the shrewd humanity of her vision.” —Elizabeth McKenzie, National Book Award nominee for The Portable Veblen

“Brisk, bright, larky, and heartbreaking—such are the stories in Christine Sneed’s superb new collection. You’ll see yourself in these pages, and your friends and family members, too. Only Sneed could give us a tale that features a horse named Peanut Sundae Pie—and one that ends up being less about livestock and more about living, period. Direct Sunlight is quirky, engaging, and quite wonderful." —Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Quitting: A Life Strategy