Dead End (cul de sac)

"With her usual economy and precision, Kim Dallesandro weaves another deceptive magical spell that tells us a lot while telling us apparently little. Behind the facade of a 'comedy of errors', there are layers behind layers of deception, disappointment and earned redemption. In this engaging little fable, we see characters that are both believably real and symbolically true. This is modem America in a petri dish, without recourse to postmodern satire or the heavy handed pop psychology so popular of late. Kim Dallesandro is a very moral writer, who doesn't moralise. Her characters walk a line between idealism and innocence and the cold brutal world of 'Realpolitik'.lt' s one to read more than once, each time realising that this simple little volume is actually slyly complex." D M Mitchell (author of'Savoy: A Serious Life') "The reader tries to tie all the parts together but is not quite able to see what is actually happening so the explanation, in the final chapter, is a magical revelation. To be led to the "Ah hah!" moment via a tale full of full-blown, twisted and, yet, sympathetic characters, is quite the treat. About the time you think you have figured out what these crazy-ass characters are doing, there's a twist. Dead End cul-de-sac is different from previous tales by Kim Dallesadro in that there are more characters, each of whom has an important part in the tangled web, and while the story comes to a satisfying conclusion, the reader yearns to know what will happen next." (Charlotte Herzele)