Invoking comparisons with Raymond Carver and Flannery O'Conner, Rick DeMarinis is considered by many to be one of America's finest exponents of the short story. A consumate craftsmen whose multi-layered tales are dark, sardonic, and often hilarious, his characters dazzle the reader with their manic optimism despite depression, boredom, illness and the usual postmodern afflictions of alcohol, drugs and TV. ...the equal of Pynchon, Dellilo and Calvino' - William Kettredge'