A correction has been made to this story.
Hester Smith knows a thing or two about failure. She’s ended up working at a greenhouse near the Mexican border despite a promising start in higher education. There she discovers a thriving business, not in plants, but in Mexican sex slaves. As Hester ponders what to do about the illegal trafficking, she journeys back to her experience with sexual harassment.
Hester and her various dilemmas are at the center of the new novel Various Men Who Knew us as Girls. It’s the latest from Cris Mazza, who runs the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Program of Writers. Book Critic Donna Seaman recently spoke with Mazza about her new novel.
On Friday, May 20, Cris Mazza will read from Various Men Who Knew us as Girls at The Book Cellar in Chicago.
Music Button: Album Leaf, "Writing On The Wall", from the CD Into The Blue Again, (Sub Pop)
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Cris Mazza's name.