The stories in Acampora's first collection are so vivid, tightly plotted, and expertly woven that they make you look forward to reading more by this accomplished author."-- Library Journal (starred review)

Change-makers and community collectives share critical thoughts on representation, connection and disrupting the status quo at This Bright Land. On Wednesday 3 August, visitors are invited to join a live recording of Oh Annie Oh’s hit podcast Don’t Call Me “Exotic”. Host Annie will be joined by Jason Kwan and Lilly Snatchdragon from the UK's only Pan-Asian Cabaret collective The Bitten Peach, discussing how and why they formed, and the importance of community. The book offers some hints of social commentary but for the most part these characters remain completely involved in their privileged bubble, incapable of seeing beyond their suburban needs and their "keeping up with the Joneses mentality". The Wonder Garden is a beautiful book: witty, intelligent, deeply compassionate and gorgeously crafted. Lauren Acampora is uncannily skilled at chronicling the emotional lives of her characters with the same razor-sharp precision as she does the suburban landscape that surrounds them. I can’t stop thinking about these stories.”—Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericansSwarm" - this is the vermin-themed art installation story - I've already tried to pique your curiosity there, because it's a great story. Poignant and about hubris, I guess - a bit of an Icarus theme. "The Wonder Garden" is another story a bit about a family betrayal of sorts stemming from hubris gone way awry... Among my favorite stories in the collection were: "Ground Fault," which followed a home inspector whose personal life is more in disarray than his professional one, but some spillage is inevitable; "Floortime," about a woman struggling to reach her autistic son and willing to consider any means to do so; "Elevations," about a couple struggling with the separate needs of each person; "The Umbrella Bird," which chronicles a woman who must reconcile a drastic change in her husband; and "Moon Roof," in which a woman's inability to move into traffic underscores issues in the rest of her life.

Innovative designed spaces for people to enjoy and come together, including a custom-built tiered chillout seating overlooking This Bright Land, perfect for catching a performance in the evenings, or family picnics throughout the day ​ A series of guest-curated dazzling street parties open to all ages will close the weekends every Sunday. Featuring live art, performance, dance, DJs, games, workshops and relaxed in-conversation events, these day-to-night parties will platform creative collectives, performance groups and artists exploring ideas relating to race, gender, sexuality and disability. ​ If I had to say two more words that this book is about: Real Estate. But like, in the fullest possible sense. Acampora is amazing at doing the whole "house (or village) as psyche" thing: all the characters in this book are buying, selling, expanding, remodeling, designing, furnishing, inspecting, decorating, destroying, preserving -- and even installing avant-garde, vermin-themed art installations onto! -- their houses. And it all means something, and it's fabulous. In 13 sharply drawn linked stories, Acampora reveals the complexities beneath the polish and privilege of a prosperous Connecticut town."-- People At the centre of This Bright Land, a spectacular 35m Observation Wheel offers new perspectives on the city, both literally and figuratively. The wheel will rise over Somerset House’s iconic dome to reveal breath-taking, rare views of the capital’s skyline from a new central London viewpoint. Each gondola of the wheel will be home to two new audio commissions, which captures the voices and stories of Londoners from all walks of life. As part of this, Somerset House has worked with seven young people and Audio Producer Harry Murdoch, to record conversations and interviews on the theme of family in Voices of Tomorrow, supported by the Kusuma Trust. The second audio commission, A Story of Us by British-Iranian film director Mina Salimi, sees uncanny conversations between Londoners from all walks of life seamlessly woven together in a soundscape exploring connection and commonality.

A man strikes an under-the-table deal with a surgeon to spend a few quiet seconds closer to his wife than he’s ever been; a young soon-to-be mother looks on in paralyzing astonishment as her husband walks away from a twenty-year career in advertising at the urging of his spirit animal; an elderly artist risks more than he knows when he’s commissioned by his newly arrived neighbors to produce the work of a lifetime. It all seems to get darker as the book progresses. There are lies and secrets and insecurities here. Yes, the stuff we’re all surrounded by each and every day. So maybe the whole thing isn't any more than a reflection of what goes on in every small town; in every community, in fact. The Wonder Garden it's a wonderful, deliciously bizarre collection of short stories written with depth and beautiful language. Although many of these characters are often odd, they are also deeply human, therefore easy to relate to. This book is different than any other short story collection I’ve reviewed for this blog. The stories are so tightly and deftly woven together that I’m going to write about characters rather than specific stories. These stories take place in the small NYC suburb of Old Cranberry. It is an upper middle class suburb populated mostly by those who work in the city and their spouses. This set of stories spans a longer time period than most short story collections. It is difficult to get an exact number of months, but it seems to be approximately a year. Spooky and fabulous... A cleareyed lens into the strange, human wants of upper-class suburbia."-- Kirkus (starred review)

I won't say that all of the short stories engaged me in the same way. I wasn't a fan of a few of them (especially Moon Roof) and sometimes had a hard time remembering which character was which but I definitely had my favourites (ie. Floortime).

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Floortime - Career woman Suzanne Crawford is the single mother of a boy who appears to be on the autism spectrum. This would present a challenge to most parents, but if one’s maternal instincts are on the low end, the problem looms larger. At first glance Old Cranbury looks like just another affluent, conventional town. But underneath its seemingly pleasant facade and its picture-perfect Victorian houses, we soon get to discover some of its most bizarre and disturbed residents. An enchanting tour of the animal kingdom that makes the world's biodiversity feel downright magical - Publishers Weekly The town setting is Old Cranbury in Connecticut. Author Lauren Acampora tells thirteen stories about the inhabitants of the town. Each story is a standalone. Yet each story melds into other stories, as small town household stories meld into other family’s stories. Acampora grew up in Darien, the inspiration for The Stepford Wives, so knows her suburban towns. In visiting Darien as an adult, she found that the houses seemed almost like characters.