Local SoulsIn his first work of fiction in a decade, Allan Gurganus returns to the mythic site of his immortal novel 'Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All'. Time has passed; the Internet has arrived; but the daily human dramas in Falls, North Carolina prove that old habits die hard. A banker's daughter seeks the child she was forced to relinquish at birth. The disappearance of a star high school student sends ripples through the town, creating a cult led by

pregnant at just 15

From simple vegan fast-day dishes to feasts for the family

the Bauhaus

Muhammad Ali was God's Gift to the interviewer

that of a born

a brilliant 'great white' cherry tree

taking care not only of their children but of one another

Francesca Segal finds herself sitting vigil in the 'mother ship' of neonatal intensive care

the only one left to care for her six-year-old sister

he struggles in this brutal floating world until he meets William Borden

Hand-selected by Alastair Humpreys

and the kindness of strangers