| Jan ’05 |
| 29 |
| 12:00 am |
Stephen Elliot reads & signs
Happy Baby
Wednesday January 26th 7PM
FREE
Stephen Elliott is the author of four novels, as well as the nonfiction book LOOKING FORWARD TO IT: OR, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE ELECTORAL PROCESS. He is also the editor of the anthology POLITICALLY INSPIRED. A native of Chicago, he currently lives in San Francisco and lectures at Stanford University. An active political and literary blogger, you can learn more about Stephen Elliott and his books by visiting his website at www.stephenelliott.com.
HAPPY BABY is a haunting look inside America?s foster care system even as its fully drawn characters and fresh prose make it a rewarding and lasting work of fiction. Stephen Elliott draws on his own experiences as a ward of the court in Chicago to tell the story of Theo, once an orphan in the foster care system and now a grown man living in California. Saturated with memories of abuse and heartache, and filled with the simple wish to understand more about himself, Theo returns to Chicago to reconnect with an old girlfriend from his troubled youth.
Told in reverse order, this edgy novel turns mysterious as Elliott takes us backward in time, from San Francisco to Amsterdam to Chicago, as we attempt to recognize the root of Theo?s plight and the source for his quietly wavering humanity. The personal nature of this story has allowed Elliott to write about it with uncommon insight and unequaled empathy, leaving the reader with a tale that is gritty and subversive while simultaneously tender and heartbreaking.
