Secrets & Lies

by Josh Gross

Stalking your pet's former owners. Faking your death to get out of paying back your student loans. Stealing your co-worker's cat to teach her a lesson about hygiene. These are secrets and these are lies. Sometimes they're both. They're also just a few of the stories in Secrets and Lies, author Josh Gross's debut collection examining things people prefer to hush up and gloss over. In this book, you'll get inside the head of a cynical competitive debater forced to logically justify the existence of love, see an alternate history in which Congress banned heartbreak after the tragic events of February 14th and even experience abortion from a male perspective. With Gross's wicked wit and wordplay focused through a lens equal parts existentialist and absurd, you'll be riveted from cover to cover. In fiction, everything is a lie. Unless it's a secret.

Genres: Fiction

318 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2011

Reviews

[Karen S · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I read 6 of the short stories and realized I didn't care for his style. There was no depth or payoff to any of the stories. It felt like I was reading the work of a high school student.