Wells Tower is an American writer of short stories, non-fiction, feature films and television. In 2009 he published his first short story collection, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned to much critical acclaim. His short fiction has also been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, McSweeney's, Vice, Harper's Magazine, A Public Space, Fence and other periodicals. In 2022, he wrote the screenplay for the feature film Pain Hustlers, starring Emily Blunt and directed by David Yates.
Down Through the Valley
Original publication
2001
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Opening Excerpt
From the storyWhen Jane left me for Barry Kramer, it was a dark and heavy sort of hurt, but she had not been happy in our house anyway, and I felt that there was little to be done. Jane and I seemed stricken by the son of ardent spitefulness that comes to light only after many years of tender acquaintance, and our marriage collapsed beneath the weight of our frequent and spirited bickering. We fought about big things and we fought about little things, and by the time she and Barry fell in together everything was just about wrecked already.
Story Vibe & Style Profile
Bittersweet
Deliberate
Clear Realism
Realistic / Mimetic
Appearances
The Paris Review
The Paris Review No. 159 — Fall 2001 · Sep 1, 2001
About the Author
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