Twin Palms

Everyone is trying to escape something. Gene Erikson is no exception. After fleeing a dead end future in his hometown, he moves to the technicolor world of Three Oaks where he helps his aunt and uncle open a forward-thinking motor court. His first taste of independence seems like a slice of paradise until Pearl Harbor is attacked and he’s forced to reckon with a world where swaying palm trees and exploding bombs can coexist in the same moment. Race, class, love, and a traveling circus create a hurricane of decisions that could complete him — or destroy him completely. Set against the backdrop of a country at war with itself as much as with its enemies, Twin Palms is a novel about escape and belonging. It’s about the places we end up and the people who give us a reason to stay.