Sunbeams And Cigarettes

by Nick Ostdick

Spencer thought life was always planned, scheduled, or dated. But after a car accident leaves his brother dead, he finds that nothing will go to plan. Overcome by feelings of loss and guilt, Spencer takes a part-time job at a grocery store in hopes of finding some piece of mind. Once there, he meets Howard, an elderly manager who shows him how life really works. Filled with colorful characters and a language all its own, Sunbeams and Cigarettes is a modern story of a boy growing up and finding out that life can take you places-even ones you don't want to go to.

162 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2005

About the author

Nick Ostdick is a fiction writer from Chicago. He is the editor of RAGAD, a literary broadside and online magazine of new writing. He is the author of the novel Sunbeams and Cigarettes (2005), which he has heard some people like. His writings have appeared or are forthcoming in the likes of Night Train, Pindeldyboz, Our Stories, Annalemma, Slow Trains, and his story 'The Sleeping Shags' was a 2007 StorySouth Notable Story. He's working on a currently-untitled collection of stories.

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally had the chance to read this and I found it quite awesome and moving. Focusing on loss and isolation, love, the grieving process and abuses of all kinds, it's quite an impressive debut novel, no less so since Nick wrote it when he was like eleven years old. Nice work dude.