The Angel of Rome

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From the number-one 'New York Times' best-selling author of 'Beautiful Ruins' and 'The Cold Millions' comes a stunning collection about those moments when everything changes - for the better, for the worse, for the outrageous - as a diverse cast of characters bounces form Italy to Idaho, questioning their roles in life and finding inspiration in the unlikeliest places.We all live like we're famous now, curating our social media presences, performing out identities, withholding those parts of ourselves we don't want others to see. In this riveting collection of stories from acclaimed author Jess Walter, a teenage girl tries to live up to the image her beautiful, missing mother. An elderly couple confronts the fiction writer eavesdropping on their conversation. A son must repeatedly come out to his senile father while looking for a place to care for the old man. A famous actor in recovery has a one-night stand with the world's most surprising film critic. And in the romantic title story, a shy 21-year-old studying Latin in Rome during "the year of my reinvention" finds himself face-to-face with the Italian actress of his adolescent dreams.Funny, poignant, and redemptive, this collection of short fiction offers a dazzling range of voices, backdrops, and situations. With his signature wit and bighearted approach to the darkest parts of humanity, Walter tackles the modern condition with a timeless touch.