A Habit for Words

FROM THE BACK COVER: Following on the heels of his critically applauded novel, The Avenue (RoseDog Books, 2015), Andrew Cecere gathers some of his best short fiction and published essays into an eclectic anthology, A Habit for Words. In such stories as "The Cruise" and "Pillows," Cecere explores the shallowness of self-absorbed success, and then puts his playful imagination to work in "The Church and Marriage," a satire on canonical ironies. He follows with a diversity of tales that range from the sad to sublime to the sweetly silly. From fiction, Cecere segues into a series of his newspaper essays addressing local topics that have implications far beyond. As an attorney (now retired), civic leader, philanthropist, and occasional progressive gadfly in his small, conservative city of Richmond, Indiana, he challenges public apathy toward gun control and racial injustice, and tweaks the local media's noses when he sees hypocrisy or neglect. While the book's fiction stories have broad appeal, many of the essays, and certainly the personal profiles that conclude the book, focus on the community or Richmond. Some of Cecere's best writing comes forth in his "At Home and Abroad" essays, which topically range from domestic events to perspectives on the nation of Spain and the City of Atlanta, unique views that aren't found in travel brochures. On the closing pages, Cecere hails the lives of a number of local individuals, commending their civic virtues, creativity, and benevolence, qualities that can make any community great.