The Human Act and Other Stories First edition

Angela Lam's short story collection explores the multifaceted lives of diverse people struggling to connect in a disjointed world. Lam delves into sexual identity, poverty, romantic love, parenthood, eating disorders, infidelity, and family relationships, effortlessly carrying the reader from the ghettos to suburbia. From the tough-talking, lipstick-wielding girl in "Lips," to the love struck lesbian artist in "Fistful of Love," to the stoic single mother raising a disabled son and the infatuated widow trying to relive her past, Lam illuminates the hope, fear, and longing of what it means to be human.