This was probably my favorite discovery of the year: a book of masterful short stories set in a region I'm familiar with. Tim Gautreaux (pronounced go-tro) has a writing style which has been compared to Flannery O'Connor. It reminded me a little of John Steinbeck. These short stories are set in the author's home state of Louisiana and capture the essence of this place. The stories are of common, working class people who face a crisis. The settings are strawberry fields, tugboat cabin, bar, sawmill, decrepit house trailers. It isn't necessarily a feel-good read, the majority of the stories don't have happy endings, yet there is resilience. 

Disclaimer: includes some violence, drunkenness and extreme poverty