A Novel

Part community journal, part litany, The Book of Silala is a compilation of first-person narratives from a northern California village struggling to sustain trust and grassroots sensibilities in the face of corrosive forces. Although the tug and prowl of machismo has long been mitigated by a revered elder, Isabel Stanislaw, her death leads to the psychic unraveling of her friends and loved ones. As a result, grieving, land squabbles, secret intimacies, and assaults of various kinds test the central ties and beliefs in the community.