Bich Minh Nguyen

I'm teaching Cathy Day's The Circus in Winter this fall, and rereading it has felt a little like falling in love all over again--with Day's luminous, precise language and the way she creates radiant, and often tragic,  lives that radiate in and out of the circus town of Lima, Indiana (based on the real-life Peru, Indiana). This gorgeous novel-within-stories stands as an incredible example of how to craft character and setting. Day's innovations with form and voice feel natural, necessary; her insights on family, obligation, and desire startle and move. The book asks: are you "town people" or "circus people"? If you're not sure, or even if you know,  The Circus in Winter will make you think about where you're from, where you live, and where you want to be.

 P.S. Day's next book, Comeback Season (a memoir) will be out in January 2008. It's a riveting, funny, and unflinching account of her adventures in online dating.