Shufflers
by Frank Haberle
Print ISBN: 978-1-7364033-2-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-7364033-3-4
In the tradition of Denis Johnson and Charles Bukowski, author Frank Haberle’s 48 interwoven stories will take you to minimum wage America of the 1980s, where opportunities are few and situations are precarious. Sometimes funny but always honest, Shufflers is a grand tour of a world in which no one hopes to travel, a world we see just out of the corner of our eyes.
Danny is an underemployed transient who drifts from New York City, the East Coast, and through the American West seeking itinerant work where work is available—in places such as factories and canneries, constructions sites and fishing boats, a fry shack and on an auction-house floor. Danny, often cold and hungry, sometimes drunk, and always struggling to survive, tries to avoid becoming just one more “shuffler.” Along the way, he learns about resilience and fortitude from the usually invisible characters who populate the fringes of our world.
Frank Haberle’s short stories have won awards from Pen Parentis, Beautiful Loser Magazine, Freshwater Review, and the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and have appeared in more than 30 magazines. Frank is a workshop leader for the NY Writers Coalition. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.
A portion of the proceeds from Shufflers goes to NY Writers Coalition, a non-profit organization helping traditionally silenced and under-heard New Yorkers to find their voices through the art of creative writing.