In the line-up: Book Club reading for March. Short and savage.

An illusive snake in the garden dissolves a marriage. A night in a bowling alley leads to a string of unforgettable accidents. A fourteen year old with a hunting rifle never misses what she’s aiming for.

No words are wasted and every voice rings true in Bonnie Jo Campbell's collection of short told of broken bodies and broken souls. Born out of junk yards and scrap heaps, the Rust Belt debris of Michigan industry, battered on back roads, or blown in out of storms, her characters shock and surprise, shine light and ultimately find grace and redemption. Stunning and spare, American Salvage is story telling at its best: taut, nuanced, brutally honest and brave.