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In an uncanny, distorted version of New York City, a man rides the subway through the chaos of an ordinary commute. He may have a gun in his pocket. He may be looking for someone—a woman named Esperanza.
Between stops, we shuttle back and forth through time and see a man who stands in traffic, the same man seizing and shuddering on a sidewalk, an institution where the man is housed with other undesirables (or troublemakers?), a neighborhood where all the residents have forgotten their names. Over everything looms the specter of a nameless menace, a pervasive sense that something—more than just a ride—is coming to an end.
With Robert Lopez’s signature innovation, A Better Class of People delivers a network of stories interconnected and careening like subway tunnels through the realities of modern America: immigration, gun violence, police brutality, sexual harassment, climate change, and the point of fracture at which we find ourselves, where reality and perception are indistinguishable.
“Lopez takes a look inside, messy guts, beating heart and all. A rawly observed universe peopled with voices of stirring honesty and wild loop-de-loops. Funny, brutal, brilliant.” -Samantha Hunt
“Robert Lopez is one of the most exciting writers working today and these linked stories are an excellent introduction to his blazingly original intelligence and wit.” -Jenny Offill
“Robert Lopez's A Better Class of People bowled me over. These stories are taut, intense, mysterious, and they echo off each other in totally unexpected ways -- and to boot -- the collection is an honest, funny, and brutal homage to New York City.” -Peter Orner