saroyan has a different style—often in his shorter works it’s more like he is talking to the reader rather than trying to write a formal essay or story. He has a feel for the “common man” (whatever that is supposed to mean—I doubt if Saroyan thought of anyone as “common”). He also writes with a great deal of humor and frequently with a touch of fantasy. Often the reader feels that under the humor there is pain. My biggest complaint about this collection is that many of the peices were excerpted from longer works. I found this frustrating. ( )