Steve Almond, the man whose candy jones fueled the bestseller "Candyfreak," returns with stories that will either seal his reputation as a master of the modern form or get him arrested. Possibly both. His cast of characters includes a wealthy family certain they have been abducted by space aliens, a sexy magazine editor who falls for a world-class cad, and a beleaguered dentist who refuses to read his best friend's novel. Michael Jackson and Abraham Lincoln make cameos, as do a variety of desperate and beautiful loonies, all of whom are laid bare, often literally.
In these stories, Almond refuses to let his characters off the hook until we have seen the full measure of ourselves within their struggles.