At the core of Greg Sarris’s Grand Avenue: A Novel in Stories are the lives of multiple generations of related Pomo Indians, who live in old barracks along the titular street in Santa Rosa. Many of the tales are voice-driven and delve into how past encounters surge up in protagonists’ memories and become pertinent to the present. In “The Magic Pony,” a teenage girl loves a horse set to be slaughtered and teaches it to do tricks. “Waiting for the Green Frog” centers an older woman, a basket weaver, who sings and dances to heal patients. The narrator of “Joy Ride” is a part-Portuguese man who is drawn to think about mixed identity. “Secret Letters” concerns a man who becomes obsessed with the son he never recognized as his own. This heartfelt collection, streaked at times with a kind of magic, weaves themes of complicated family relationships, hidden truths, conflicting identities, and storytelling into a meaningful consideration of difficult lives.
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GRAND AVENUE: A NOVEL IN STORIES, BY GREG SARRIS
Related Stories
Event Recap: Grand Avenue
Greg Sarris, Lisa See, and John Freeman discussed Grand Avenue, storytelling. By Anita Felicelli
A Grand Avenue Runs Through It
Greg Sarris’s novel in stories maps the hidden forces facing Indigenous people in Santa Rosa. By John Freeman
Excerpt: Grand Avenue
Read the opening pages of Greg Sarris’s Grand Avenue, the California Book Club’s February selection. By Greg Sarris
Why You Should Read This: Grand Avenue
Greg Sarris’s novel in stories is the California Book Club’s February 2026 selection. By David L. Ulin
Why I Write: To Give Voice to a People’s Struggles
Greg Sarris’s Grand Avenue is the California Book Club’s February 2026 selection. By Greg Sarris
The Never-Ending Story
In Becoming Story: A Journey Among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors, Greg Sarris recalls the saga of his life. By M.T. Hartnell
Alta Live: Place and Purpose’s Greg Sarris and Obi Kaufmann
The hosts of this extraordinary (mostly) outdoor podcast join us to detail the new perspectives offered in their work.
