Throwing Tarts At The King And Other Stories

Anne Bianco's debut collection Throwing Tarts At the King contains stories and essays whose diverse characters struggle with loss, class disparities, and time. They are "the walking wounded." A lawyer who simultaneously mourns and envies his older brother's legacy and regrets his own lost chances finds connection to the tangible in a brawl with a truck driver. A garbage man by day and a zoo security guard by night reaches for autonomy and love when he sheds dependence on an old friend. After his older, idolized brother saves his life, a young boy accepts the possibility of a future without him. A shopaholic reviews the dearth of romantic choices in her life and tries to fill the hole in her soul by finding friendship with a jewelry counter clerk.