The Family Romance of Neurotics

Junichuro Matsumato is a handsome 42-year-old man: dark-haired, wealthy, and devastated.


He stares forlornly at the small glass buddha statue illuminated by the blue LED light behind it.


There are thousands of the buddhas behind the glowing panes of glass, five hundred per wall.


For easy identification, the light behind his wife’s buddha glows a different hue as he swipes his card to enter.


He doesn’t need to be shown where his wife’s glass box is.


Junichuro visits here every day and has done for 21 months. He never cries.



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'Lawrence makes every word count, telling each story with elegance and emotional punch.” — Patsy Hennessey


'Each story is masterfully constructed ... Humorous, touching, creepy, but most of all entertaining, this collection is superb.' — Tracy Michelle Anderson