Secret Stream

by Héctor Tobar, Oscar Villalon (Foreword)

In Héctor Tobar short story, "Secret Stream," Nathan and Sofia both find solace in "geeky" obsessions—for him bicycling and for her tracking streams. After a chance encounter, they jaunt together through Los Angeles and try to connect, despite their loner tendencies. The story visits garbage dumps and country club golf courses, crisp mansions and "eroded asphalt" in a startling portrait of a city and its inhabitants. In his recommendation, Oscar Villalon hits on the story's "sad knowledge that maybe this can't last"— an idea that propels the prose toward its powerfully rendered final scenes.

20 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 29, 2015

About the author

Héctor Tobar, now a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and a novelist. He is the author of Translation Nation and The Tattooed Soldier. The son of Guatemalan immigrants, he is a native of the city of Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

uni assignment once again
hm, yeah idk. it was okay?

[Adrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

basically about a dude and his crush on a manic pixie dream girl. i really enjoyed the writing style, but the theme was not to my taste.

[i read this on december 1st, 2020.]

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent fiction

This short story was marvelous in its main character's introspection and in his interactions with the river woman. I loved it!