Panio Gianopoulos

A Familiar Beast (Nouvella Books)

In the wake of an affair that has cost him his marriage and career, Marcus is a lost man. Desperate for reprieve from his loneliness and regret, he accepts an invitation to go to the outskirts of North Carolina and visit Edgar, an old high school classmate burdened with mysterious troubles of his own. In Edgar’s beautiful, empty home, their separate sorrows draw Marcus into a series of unnerving situations, culminating in a proposed deer hunt. Marcus agrees, despite his inexperience and aversion to killing, and as the hunt draws closer, he must confront the violent prospect with a candor and recognition that have, until now, evaded him. Elegant and darkly moving, A FAMILIAR BEAST is a haunting tale of a man’s search for redemption. Panio Gianopoulos's writing has appeared in various publications, including Northwest Review, Tin House, The Rattling Wall, The Brooklyn Rail, Nerve, and FiveChapters. A recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for nonfiction literature, he has been included in the anthologies Cooking and Stealing: The Tin House Nonfiction Reader, The Bastard on the Couch, and The Encyclopedia of Exes: 26 Stories by Men of Love Gone Wrong. He lives with his family in Los Angeles. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS ON NOVEMBER 13, 2013.