The author explains in his introduction that he wanted to create pieces that “hung there in midair, suspended” without categorizing them as prose poetry, flash fiction, or micro-fiction. The very short entries presented here, sometimes only spanning a few pages, generally introduce a single character, capture one consequential moment, and culminate with an ironic reversal. In “Ray,” a man watches his terminally ill best friend meet lung cancer with defiant humor. After Ray’s death, the grieving narrator asks a stranger for a cigarette, only to be warned, “Those things will kill you.” (Similarly ironic and darkly comedic turns run throughout the collection.) The rebellious skateboarder in “Sims” is disparaged by his hometown until he dies serving in the Gulf War and is suddenly hailed as a patriot. In “Neighbors,” two mismatched teenagers conceal a violent domestic incident, after which a drunken father unexpectedly protects their secret. “Swimming” follows several boys whose challenge to a boastful friend ends in tragedy at a pond. Other entries are gentler: “Dog Days” portrays a widower tethered to a declining factory town by memories and an exceptional hot dog restaurant, while “Origins” concerns a man realizing how little he knows about the lives his parents led before he could remember them. “Mr. Wilson” tackles homophobia while also neatly revealing a marital dynamic in which a father’s dissent consigns him to the sofa. (When he disagrees with his wife, he automatically walks “glumly to the dresser to pull out the extra blankets,” knowing exactly where he will spend the night.) Joseph demonstrates remarkable skill in establishing whole worlds with only a few pages. But despite his sharp observational acumen, the author’s heavily staccato prose can feel flat. Many pieces conclude before their characters or conflicts fully register—they seem to land suddenly on the page and scurry away just as quickly. Still, the strongest entries leave deep impressions.