The Lucky Ones

Set mostly in lush, heady Colombia but even in a jungle-like New York City, they yoke together the fates of guerrilla soldiers, rich kids, rabbits, hostages, bourgeois expats, and drug dealers. Interconnected yet fractured in places, the result is a narrative jigsaw puzzle with some of the pieces missing, or a kaleidoscope where different characters spin into focus as they take turns to come into focus. Her characters' voices are completely haunting - and Pachico's playfulness with language and mastery of consciousness create a mesmerising collective atmosphere in this collection. At once terse and tender, with a manic, crazed energy, these stories will scalpel their way into your memory.

Julianne Pachico was born in 1985 in Cambridge, ­England. She grew up in Cali, Colombia, and has lived and worked abroad in various places, including Ecuador, Mexico and Indonesia. She is currently completing her PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at UEA. In 2015 she was long­listed for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and had two stories anthologized in Salt Publishing's Best British Short Stories 2015. Her short stories have been published by The White Review, Lighthouse and Litro.