JOHN J. CLAYTON

These ten probing fictions explore spiritual and emotional growth, coming of age, the impact of death in a family. The stories “Many Seconds into the Future” and “All the Children are Isaac” are tragic; others like “The Name Changer” are comic. The fact of being Jewish is significant in some; in others, Judaism is simply the cultural background of the characters. Many of the stories were originally published in Commentary, Notre Dame Review, Sewanee Review, Missouri Review and The Journal.

In the ten gorgeous stories that comprise Many Seconds Into The Future John Clayton has proven once again that he is not just a master writer, but a master of breaking and mending the reader’s heart. I read these stories in one great and terrible rush. I wanted to stop and savor the beauty on every page. I want to stop, take a breath and turn from the human sorrow. But these stories have such powerful momentum, such essential and true gravitas that there was no stopping. I needed to keep reading. And then I read them each again. The world here, dark as it can be, glitters. There is a lifetime of knowing in this book.

~ Victoria Redel, author of Make Me Do Things, Loverboy, The Border of Truth

John Clayton is a mystic, a seer, a magi, and yet he doesn't know all, or care to. Within the mysteries lie the hearts of these great stories. His people are as real as ours, and we worry over them, listen to them, laugh with them, most of all feel with them. No writer evokes emotion like John Clayton, from tears to joy, from shock to acceptance, and Many Seconds Into the Future is a testament to faith, compassion, and the power of love.

~ Bill Roorbach, author of Life Among Giants, The Remedy for Love, Big Bend