Zombies, clowns, prophets, and prostitutes infuse the pages of absurdist and fiction writer Franco D'Rivera's collection of short stories. In this second and concluding volume, he brings us face to face with elements as odd as they are familiar: fear, loss, love, and gain.

D'Rivera bends the spheres of reality, often with a kind of endearing and deformed sentimentality, in prose as poignant as it is incisive. A man finds himself in love with a world that is terrified of him. A woman in the midst of an uphill struggle for personal freedom is locked in the treacherous nightmare of an entrapping cycle of vice and cruelty. A clown and middle aged prostitute share a charming, yet darkly humorous encounter. It is these sorts of tales D'Rivera exposes and studies in his quest to find the ultimate truth.

This compendium provides an ode to the resilience and the better parts of the human spirit. In a crystalline style that weaves through these resonant tales of friendship, love, beauty, and terror, D'Rivera plunges head-first into the seemingly unlikely, but ultimately true. Open your mind to the possibilities with "In Search of the Bluebird. "

"In Search of the Bluebird: Melancholy Stories on Love and Terror," by author Franco D'Rivera, presents an eclectic and original assortment of imaginative portraits of the absurd, centered on the zeitgeist of the human condition in a reality side-stepped, fighting the iron grip of constrictions.

In one story a man finds himself in love with a world that is terrified of him. In another, a man discovers the world only after living an entire life in isolation; then there is a lighthearted tale of schizophrenia and parenthood. D'Rivera has written a rare collection of stories showing the perspectives of the people who make up these odd and poignant portraits.

This debut collection is populated by fascinating, multidimensional characters and filled with stark and realistic settings. Written in literary and polished prose, "In Search of the Bluebird" brings a new and original voice to the literary short-story form and offers up a thoroughly entertaining read that will please city dwellers or anyone who just loves a great short story well told.

Zombies, clowns, prophets, and prostitutes infuse the pages of absurdist and fiction writer Franco D'Rivera's collection of short stories. In this second and concluding volume, he brings us face to face with elements as odd as they are familiar: fear, loss, love, and gain.

D'Rivera bends the spheres of reality, often with a kind of endearing and deformed sentimentality, in prose as poignant as it is incisive. A man finds himself in love with a world that is terrified of him. A woman in the midst of an uphill struggle for personal freedom is locked in the treacherous nightmare of an entrapping cycle of vice and cruelty. A clown and middle aged prostitute share a charming, yet darkly humorous encounter. It is these sorts of tales D'Rivera exposes and studies in his quest to find the ultimate truth.

This compendium provides an ode to the resilience and the better parts of the human spirit. In a crystalline style that weaves through these resonant tales of friendship, love, beauty, and terror, D'Rivera plunges head-first into the seemingly unlikely, but ultimately true. Open your mind to the possibilities with "In Search of the Bluebird. "

"In Search of the Bluebird: Melancholy Stories on Love and Terror," by author Franco D'Rivera, presents an eclectic and original assortment of imaginative portraits of the absurd, centered on the zeitgeist of the human condition in a reality side-stepped, fighting the iron grip of constrictions.

In one story a man finds himself in love with a world that is terrified of him. In another, a man discovers the world only after living an entire life in isolation; then there is a lighthearted tale of schizophrenia and parenthood. D'Rivera has written a rare collection of stories showing the perspectives of the people who make up these odd and poignant portraits.

This debut collection is populated by fascinating, multidimensional characters and filled with stark and realistic settings. Written in literary and polished prose, "In Search of the Bluebird" brings a new and original voice to the literary short-story form and offers up a thoroughly entertaining read that will please city dwellers or anyone who just loves a great short story well told.