This was Kirn's first book and his only collection of short fiction, containing stories written long before he busted out the novels Thumbsucker and Up in the Air, both of which later became feature films. Kirn spent part of his formative years in the Mormon church, so there are some interesting themes related to that in these stories. I thought this was a really strong collection, and I wish Kirn would write more short fiction, but these days he seems to be focused on nonfiction. It probably pays better. ( )