In his stunning debut collection, Tim Gautreaux chronicles the lives of "ordinary" people - a farmer on his porch, a woman fixing her tractor, a train engineer passing through a small town - who face extraordinary circumstances or decisions. The farmer has just learned he must raise his infant granddaughter; the woman is about to watch a helicopter land in her back field; the train engineer will cause a colossal disaster.

Most of these stories are set in Louisiana, and some incorporate the customs and cadences of modern Cajun life. Many are about work and how people do their jobs, from radio announcers to pump repairmen, from bug exterminators to tugboat crews.

1. These are stories about real people, stories filled with heart and humor, event and consequence. With an unerring eye for detail and a pitch-perfect ear for language, Tim Gautreaux brings his characters to life in twelve perfectly crafted, beautifully told tales of love, redemption, and second chances. Same Place, Same Things resonates with the hope and possibility of everyday life.