The Truly Needy and Other Stories (Drue Heinz Fiction, General Interest)

Delving into Lucy Honig's fiction, one is effortlessly and willingly drawn into an intimacy with these resilient, heartbreakingly flawed characters.

In each of these nine stories strangers are drawn together in ordinary moments that become extraordinary commentary on the failings and triumphs of the human heart.

In Honig's fiction, destitute New Yorkers and determined immigrants are as much at the mercy of social services, media attention, opportunistic politicians, and "quality-of-life" campaigns as they are prey to grinding poverty, dangerous streets, and their own haunting memories.

Crossing paths, these difficult characters often misunderstand and sometimes demean each other, yet they also love and redeem and rescue one other in odd and unexpected ways.

Their voices ring out through these stories with poignancy, humor, and heart, reminding us once more of the human capacity to endure.