Gary Hawken—husband, father, civil engineer, and accomplished nerd—enjoys a good life with his family in suburban Toronto. Then a crow distracts him at a traffic signal and a truck slams into his car, knocking him into a coma. Doctors doubt he will ever regain consciousness, but Gary's wife, Melody—English professor and determined mate—undertakes his resurrection by saturating his brain with the voices of storytellers from his past. Old friends, family members, half-forgotten teachers, mythical creatures, dead heroes, and even a few fictional characters stop by Gary's bedside to tell the tales that will tantalize him out of his vegetative state back to the world. Is the universe made of stories? Melody believes we're all nothing but stories and she stakes her husband's life on that ancient promise.

Mario Milosevic is the author of Ani­mal Life, The Last Giant, Kyle's War, and Terrastina and Mazolli: a Novel in 99-word Episodes. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, fellow writer Kim Antieau.

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