Nine stories make up Haslett's first collection. They are set in Los Angeles, the Midwest, New England and England, but each summons its own distinctive world. The characters include a widower, a young couple, middle-aged siblings and an orphaned boy who finds solace in a classmate's violence.[...]

A debut collection of short stories features characters confronting the concerns of both classic literature and contemporary life, from an aging inventor who visits his gay son to an orphaned boy who finds solace in a classmate's violence. A first collection. Reprint. 80,000 first printing.[...]