Fiction. With a Proustian knack for recalling the smallest detail--from a superficial conversation to the exquisite pain of the perfect kiss--Hunter Flanagan deftly navigates past and present, simultaneously analyzing, deconstructing and torturing himself with memories of every girl he's lost or loved. For Hunter, writing is easy; it's love that comes hard. Even as he prepares to leave family, friends and Chicago--the city that made him--he never gives up on his pursuit of love and meaning. THE WEEK YOU WERENT HERE is a poignant and wry portrait of a young writer closing in on the last of his undergraduate days. Charles Blackstone's prose is a seamless match for Hunter's fragmented stream-of-consciousness. From encounters with the persistent "stalker" Kate, to the elusive Dewey, and the surprisingly independent sorority girl, Lila, Hunter exemplifies our longing for the defining moment--as fragile and quixotic a dream as life itself.