Gears: A Collection

From the author of the brilliant debut novella Short Lean Cuts comes this highly anticipated comprehensive collection of 70 short stories, poems, and art. In his first collection, Pruteanu delivers a series of fictitious "cogs" which grind together and move forward with the momentum and impact of a speeding freight train. Reminiscent of Kafka and Camus and even the great Russian novelists, Pruteanu displays that rarest ability to create believable and entertaining allegory, while at the same time deftly omitting crucial elements, allowing the reader to interpret his or her own meaning. The result is a series of machinations on love and death, oppression and adversity, identity and purpose; in effect, the machine strips away our options-and the world opens up. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR GEARS"Gears is an unforgettable collection that strikes a match, lighting up the shadows of Gogol and Vonnegut in more than a few raucous smokes together. Pruteanu is a master of language, character and