The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories (Camino del Sol)

Wanderers and writers, gangbangers and lawyers, dreamers and devils. The King of Lighting Fixtures paints an idiosyncratic but honest portrait of Los Angeles, depicting how the city both entrances and confounds. Each story serves as a reflection of Daniel A. Olivas's grand City of Angels, a "magical metropolis where dreams come true." The characters here represent all walks of L.A. life—from Satan's reluctant Craigslist roommate to a young girl coping with trauma at her brother's wake—and their tales ebb and flow among various styles, including magical realism, social realism, and speculative fiction. Like a jazz album, they glide and bop, tease and illuminate, sadden and hearten as they navigate effortlessly from meta to fabulist, from flash fiction to longer, more complex narratives. These are literary sketches of a Los Angeles that will surprise, connect, and disrupt readers wherever they may live. Good things happen at Tina's Café -- Juana -- Bar 107 -- Mateo's walk -- The subtenant -- Needle -- Orange line -- Carbon Beach -- Imprints -- Fat man -- Kind of blue -- La diabla at the farm -- Things we do not talk about -- Better than divorce -- Elizondo returns home -- Mamá's advice -- Like Rivera and Kahlo -- The lost soul of Humberto Reyes -- @chicanowriter -- The king of lighting fixtures -- Pluck -- Still life with woman and stroller -- A very bitter man -- Silver case -- The last dream of Pánfilo Velasco -- Homecoming -- Meeting with my editor -- Gig economy -- The three mornings of José Antonio Rincón -- The Great Wall. "A collection of short stories, each reflecting Daniel Olivas' Chicano culture, a life growing up in Los Angeles, his exposure to Jewish life as a Jew-by-choice, and his experience being the parent of a gay son. The stories are character-driven, which also ebb and flow among various styles, including magical realism, social realism, and speculative fiction"--Provided by publisher.