A Prayer for Travelers: A Novel

ISBN: 0525537015

Author: Tomar, Ruchika

Condition: New

WINNER OF THE PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE VCU/CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD AND LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE[A] scorching desert-noir. . . . Like her nervy protagonists, Tomar is a taker of risks. -New York Times Book ReviewBreathtaking . . . For Penny and Cale, violence looms at all corners and in Tomars compassionate rendering, they are imbued with strength, fortitude and fierceness. -San Francisco ChronicleCale Lambert, a bookish loner of mysterious parentage, lives in a dusty town near the California-Nevada border, a place where coyotes scavenge for backyard dogs and long-haul truckers scavenge for pills and girls. Cale was raised by her grandfather in a loving, if codependent, household, but as soon as she's left high school his health begins an agonizing decline. Set adrift for the first time, Cale starts waitressing at the local diner, where she reconnects with Penélope Reyes, a charismatic former classmate running mysterious side-hustles to fund her dreams. Penny exposes Cale to the reality that exists beyond their small town, and the girls become inseparable-until one terrifying act of violence shatters their world. When Penny vanishes without a trace, Cale must set off on a dangerous quest across the desert to find her friend, and discover herself.An audacious debut, told in deftly interwoven chapters, A Prayer for Travelers explores the complicated legacy of the American West and the trauma of female experience.