The Impossible Shore: A Story Cycle

By Marc Porter Zasada

Day by day, century by century, the past cries out to the future: "Do not set aside my beauty, my desires, and my carefully-constructed truths, even as you try to take my precious child to some impossible shore." - from the Prologue.

Named one of the Best 100 Indie Books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews!

"Grand visions...the stories are capacious and sweeping... pitch-perfect...Zasada's yarns captivate."-Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"...Closely linked short stories that form a whole far greater than the sum of their parts. Each layer of The Impossible Shore draws the reader deeper than the one before. An extraordinary, intricately crafted work of literature, The Impossible Shore is highly recommended."-Midwest Book Review

In this Story Cycle of closely linked and exquisitely wrought tales, entire philosophical systems arise and fall along with the characters. A man in Central Park envisions a daunting, snow-capped mountain rising up in place of The Dakota. A rock star dreams of Heaven and Hell. A minor Pakistani official tries to imagine The West. A successful CFO tries to pass his fortune to a sailor. An unprepared heir explores the deepest possibilities of "more." A college professor speaks with the dead. Lovers move first into, and then out of worlds they create together. Again and again, as we move closer to The Impossible Shore, the unreachable comes almost within our grasp.

The song "Stop Asking" by Josh Silvera, was based on The Productions of Time, one of the key works in the cycle. See www.impossibleshore.com

Author Marc Porter Zasada is perhaps best known for his six years of "Urban Man" commentaries on NPR station KCRW in Los Angeles, but he has had many careers: newspaper editor, book editor, theatre and classical music reviewer, essayist, and high-tech marketing executive at leading global companies. His articles and stories have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, the Antioch Review, The Florida Review, Big Fiction, and many other venues. Marc was one of seven founding members of the Bay Area Book Awards. He now makes his home in Southern California. The Impossible Shore is his first full-length work of fiction. Learn more at www.impossibleshore.com

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0578885859
• ISBN13: 9780578885858
• Release Date: June 2021
• Publisher: Upper Story Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"