Odom Shiloh is in trouble. His job is going nowhere, his marriage is on the ropes, and running over a French cyclist in Memphis didn't help. Now his sister, the piano virtuoso Birdshit, has run off with a local high school football star. Enter Blakey Flake, an art history teacher and armchair philosopher turned private investigator: off they go in search of Birdshit, encountering evangelical preachers, articulate foreigners, drug addicts in Superman underwear and, of course, the cops. But as the pair wind their way from Arkansas to Kansas City one cigarette at a time, Odom realizes that he isn't really running after Birdshit; he's actually running away from his past.  "Drag the Darkness Down is a brilliant picaresque novel in the tradition of the great Arkansans Charles Portis and Donald Harington.  Matt Baker proves to be a master storyteller, possessed with an unforgettable voice and imagination.  I couldn't put this novel down, and I predict that Odom Shiloh will stand as one of the most recognizable narrators in the twenty-first century." -George Singleton, author of The Half-Mammals of Dixie  "In Drag the Darkness Down Matt Baker takes us on a fresh gothic trip among the odd and their weird energy, folks with the vigor and sterling bad habits you look for in friends. A trip not meant for the delicate, maybe, but others who come along will be rewarded." -Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone

Drag the Darkness Down

Literature & Fiction

Baker, Matt

Literary

No Record

A stay-at-home dad documents his sex life on a Fitbit. Two teenage boys fall under the dangerous spell of a charismatic friend who enlists them to help find a buried treasure. A recent college graduate pads his law school application by teaching in an inner-city high school. These stories from Ryan Shoemaker’s first collection pass through landscapes of loneliness, stagnation, and bad good intentions. His characters often confront the disparity between illusion and reality—some clinging tenaciously to illusion, while others relinquish illusion to begin a journey to see the world, and themselves, through more compassionate eyes.   T.C. Boyle, author of The Terranauts and Tortilla Curtain: “What impresses me most about this collection is the enormous range of exhibition here. Ryan Shoemaker moves effortlessly from brilliant comedic pieces to stories of deep emotional resonance. He is a talent to reckon with—and enjoy.”   Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: "Ryan Shoemaker's characters are often wrestling with blind spots, and they are not always the most sympathetic because of this, but he is so skillful at allowing each person his humanity. Every story here is its own journey about growth, or lack of growth, in a memorably thoughtful and convincing way."   Dana Johnson, author of Elsewhere, California: "Beyond the Lights will haunt you long after you've read it. Shoemaker is a genius at writing ambiguity, examining why and how people make choices that aren't necessarily the right ones to make. We know these characters well because Shoemaker provides the mirror, revealing a sharp reflection. This is an engrossing and thoughtful collection for our times."

Beyond the Lights: Stories

Shoemaker, Ryan

Short Stories & Anthologies

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