Tiny Americans

by Devin Murphy · 2019

Tiny Americans follows the Thurber siblings—Jamie, Lewis and Connor—through the turbulent years of their childhood in Western New York, 1978, and into the divergent paths they each choose as adults. Their father, Terrance, tries to teach them the rhythms of the natural world while battling his own demons of alcoholism, leaving the children to navigate a fragile balance between love and abandonment. Their mother, Catrin, retreats into her art, forcing Jamie to pour her yearning into painting while her brothers channel their fury into fierce football games. As the trio eventually parts ways—Jamie to college, Lewis to the navy, Connor to work—their shared past lingers, and Terrance, now sober and wandering the country, confronts the sharp sting of regret. A luminous, multi‑generational portrait of family ties, resilience, and the lingering echo of parental choices, this novel resonates with the quiet power of a coming‑of‑age film.