An enraged village gaslights unsuspecting vacationers. A young man delays an impending confession, fondling the nostrils of his mother's pet pig. Sharp and uneasy, these tales, from an author whose work has been anthologized in O. Henry Prize Stories and Best American Mystery Stories, explore how the same things that bind these characters most closely-offering stability and identity and comfort-also set them back, pull them down, burden, limit, and ruin them.
"Christopher Merkner wastes no time establishing the odd atmosphere that pervades this debut collection.... the longer [stories] show what Mr. Merkner can do when he marries his absurd plots and unnerving deadpan tone to genuine emotional concerns."
