“The dozen short stories of An American Affair give us back a clear and accurate reflection of our own world here and now. Linked together by geographical setting and the clash of contemporary culture, they challenge our easy assumptions with complexity. The characters are wholly credible and fully dimensional. The stories they tell are moving and memorable. This is short fiction at its best and brightest.” —George Garrett, final judge “While the stories in An American Affair are united by various connections between Americans and Latin Americans, there is much more going on here beside culture clashes. These stories explore the complexities beneath our everyday lives, no matter where we live or have lived, no matter who we love or have loved. Mark Brazaitis inhabits a wide range of characters who want something more, who have to cope with dashed expectations, with time and memory’s betrayals. ‘It is hard to lie in a foreign language,’ Brazaitis writes. These rich, evocative stories deal with the nuances of truch and the inadequacy of language to express or even find truth, even when lying is made more difficult.” —Jim Daniels, author of Detroit Tales