“Passion for us all will remain a troublesome thing.”

The Rose City combines a collection of unforgettable characters with Ebershoff’s trademark emotional insight and intelligent prose in seven stories about young men and boys as they discover and rediscover themselves in a world that never really works out as planned.  Often tragic but lacking in despair, The Rose City delves into the tribulations of youth, identity, sexuality – and longing for something just out of reach.  Written with compassion and truth, these stories present characters who live at the margins of the world at the moment they take their first steps toward acceptance and love.

  

“[A] tender and darkly funny collection of stories.” —The New York Times Book Review 

“Lyrical yet searingly graphic, it is truly literary territory. [Ebershoff is writing] an important body of work.” —Chicago Tribune

“Masterful and touching.” —Entertainment Weekly

“[Herein] lies the power of Ebershoff’s gracefully written stories — by delving so deeply into the minds of his characters, he captures all the conflicting emotions and bitter truths of not just gay life, but life itself.” —Austin Chronicle

Discussion questions for The Rose City