Social Distancing

That question haunts Fred Traubert, a disillusioned former professor of Germanic languages. Fred has relocated to a small town in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan, hoping to not only make a fresh start, but also survive whatever apocalypse is sure to be on the horizon.

But his life in picturesque Roverton turns out to be far from ideal. His marriage is deteriorating; his son has dropped out of college to brew beer and study strange ideologies; he struggles to find friends and meaningful work. After a shocking incident reveals that he hasn't found a haven after all, Fred has to wonder: what can he do now?

Author Scott Spires draws on both the American tradition of small-town literature and the Central European tradition of essayistic fiction. With a focus on topical themes such as fear of the future, the clash of cultures, and our fragile ecological and political state, Social Distancing brings the style of the past firmly to the present.