As of this moment, this book's author, Richard Ford, has become one of my favorites. I picked this book up for only $3.25 at a book trade shop, but it is priceless. The stories in this book are simply written with raw prose, and yet they convey the entire world of the West, its people, the character of the land, in its pages. It is amazing how gripped I was by this book.

The characters in the book are mostly people down on their luck trying to get by, or those with dreams in their heads that never come to pass. They feel real. When I read each story, it was as if I had lost my connection with reality for a short while and was in another world, a dark, depressing and desperate sort of state. Ford shows you what's in each character's heart. He bares them to the souls, and it's like you suddenly see inside yourself a bit as well.

If you have a chance to read this book, I would highly suggest it. Since I recently moved to Casper, Wyoming, this book seemed interesting because it was about places near where I live. I often like to read books set in places I've been or can identify with, just to compare my own experiences to those of the characters in the books. This book mirrors the loneliness I feel here out West, having come from Florida, where I feel life held so much more vigor and promise.