Del was leaving the city, the state. To New York, she said, where everyone wore nice black leather jackets and smoked American Spirit cigarettes, where the living wasn’t easy, but she hoped the girls might be, where she was sure she could snag a cafe job, a nanny gig, and somehow cobble together enough rent money for some loft in Queens shared with a bunch of other queers. Who needed luxuries like sleep? There was adrenaline. There was caffeine. There were women she hadn’t slept with yet, a huge, seemingly endless pool–an ocean really.
from “The Golden Triangle”
Award–winning author Jen Currin presents remarkable and sometimes magical new stories of queer friendship and love, against the backdrop of city life.
The stories in Disembark feature queer characters navigating new worlds, new circumstances, and new methods of relating to the people around them. With resonant imagery and clear, lyrical prose, Currin weaves vibrant narratives showcasing queer relationships—be they platonic, romantic, or somewhere in between. A banshee shacks up with a lesbian couple in a rocky relationship, a lonely teen is gifted a knife by their mother’s boyfriend, a queer woman finds herself heartbroken when her best friend fails her at a crucial moment, and a young alcoholic hashes things out with their mother in the afterlife. In modes both realist and fantastic, the profound and eloquent stories in Disembark provide a glimpse into the unexpected, offering insight into the ways we relate in this world and in worlds beyond.
“Disembark is a deliciously sensual collection of stories. From haunted love to the last gasp of the patriarchy, each tale is imaginative and compelling–like watching the queerest season of Black Mirror. How does Currin do it? How can a chronicle of such achingly human complexities still feel like a heart salve? Shhh, friends, just read on!”
Carleigh Baker, author of Bad Endings and Last Woman
“Disembark is profoundly resonating, sometimes humorous, but always satisfyingly in its astonishing fantastical scenarios. Currin is a remarkable writer whose stories examine how characters navigate the unexpected and find new meaning and emotion in places where us ordinary mortals dare not go. A terrific collection.”
Lindsay Wong, Author of The Woo-Woo and Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality