Welding with Children

A master storyteller's triumphant, moving short fiction collection about lost souls, found love, and rediscovered tradition.

"Gautreaux's offbeat characters and infectious storyteller's tone put you in mind of Eudora Welty in a John Deere cap, or maybe Flannery O'Connor before she got religion. . . . Whatever direction this greatly talented writer turns to next, you'll want to follow him every step of the way." —Kirkus Reviews


Tim Gautreaux returns to the form that won him his first fans, with tales of family, sin, and redemption: from a man who realizes his grandchildren are growing up without any sense of right or wrong, and he's to blame; to a camera repairman who uncovers a young woman's secret in the undeveloped film she brings him; to a one-armed hitch-hiker who changes the life of the man who gives her a ride.

Each one a small miracle of storytelling and compassion, these stories in Welding with Children are a joyous confirmation of Tim Gautreaux's rare and generous talent.

"Insightful and delightful stories from the heart of Cajun country. . . . Gautreaux has mastered the illusion of letting a story flow in such a natural way that it seems to tell itself. His economy of language is truly impressive as he creates realistic, multifaceted characters and complex situations in the space of a few pages. . . . Highly recommended." —Library Journal

"Move Garrison Keilor's Lake Wobegon stories to Louisiana, add heat and Tabasco, and the result would be Welding With Children." —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Gautreaux has perfect pitch . . . it's his fiction's coarse incongruities—epitomized by the book's title—that prove the limitless possibilities of limited geography." —The New York Times Book Review