Book Synopsis

The stories in John Fulton's striking debut collection are set in cars, laundromats, motels, ranch houses, androadside diners, where his characters struggle with and against the demands of family loyalty, love, loss, andsexual desire. A teenage girl attempts to lose her virginity while her mother dies at home; a middle-aged Casanova passes himself off as Barry Manilow--much to thedistress of his soon-to-be-fourth wife; and two youngboys accompany their increasingly unhinged mother ona journey of self-destruction across the Utah desert.

Review Quotes

"[Fulton] writes like an old master in this powerful collection of short stories [and displays] a pentrating honesty that is worlds away from jukebox sentiment. Most impressive of all is his uncanny insight, reminiscent of J. D. Salinger, into the inner life of children." --The Boston Sunday Globe

"[These] dynamic stories . . . cover some tough emotional terrain in a delicately quirky voice that's just right for revealing life's dangers, debauches, and dead ends." --Elle

"A revelation in the controlled wildness of their tone and subject matter. They combine comedy and desperation in about equal measure, but they also contain a surprising tenderness, particularly concerning children and what they have to endure to become adults." --Charles Baxter

About the Author

John Fulton was raised in Utah and Washington State, and attended the University of Michigan's MFA program. He currently teaches creative writing at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is the author of the novel More Than Enough and two short story collections, Retribution and The Animal Girl.