The Corona Verses by Tim O'Leary

The Corona Verses blurs the line between novel and short story collection, connecting ten tales that explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the fictional town of Santa Pulmo.  Tim O’Leary employs his trademark humorist approach to characters navigating love, loss, isolation, fresh starts, and the myriad of other experiences of the pandemic. 

Santa Pulmo was a quiet little beach community—until Corona came calling. Many suspected that Danno was patient zero, exposed at a Juggalo concert in Reno, only to return as a superspreader. But how Corona arrived in Santa Pulmo is only part of the story.

In The Corona Verses you will also meet Danno's sidekick Pugs, clad in doctor’s garb, hawking bogus cures in a strip mall parking lot; a homeless traveler who discovers redemption; a conspiracy theorist trapped aboard a ship with snake-handling religious nuts, a 1980’s sitcom star, and a militia that can’t shoot straight; a teenager experiencing new freedom behind his mask; a disenchanted Catholic priest searching for God in a karate dojo; a yacht-rock idol who escapes to Santa Pulmo to finally find peace; and Al the UPS delivery man, who connects the community and saves the town from a race war. 

Perfect for readers who love exploring the ties that bind communities together in times of despair and fans of Tom Perotta, BJ Novak, and Carl Hiaasen, The Corona Verses is an unexpected collection that both faces the darkness of the human condition and explores the levity and even comedy that comes with being alive.