In twelve beautifully imagined stories linked by character and setting, Mark Slouka chronicles three generations of men and women under the spell of a landscape with a powerful history.

Set in a tiny Czech community on the shore’s of upstate New York’s Lost Lake, these elegiac stories explore both the quiet, complicated glory of the natural world and the mysterious motions of the human spirit. In “Genesis,” an inspired young war veteran envisions his legacy in a modest pasture. In “The Shape of Water,” a boy’s recollection of a momentous catch occasions a later reflection on the power of invented truths. In “The Exile,” a young woman struggles unsuccessfully against an adulterous passion. Through them all, Lost Lake emerges as a place of both epic significance and enduring simplicity, prompting memories both challenging and bittersweet.