Akin to a darker Joy Williams or Karen Russell, this book is a short, quick, and strongly emotional collection of stories that range from a sniping couple on a road trip through the Mojave Desert to a cantankerous divinity-school candidate with a foul bedside manner. Levine, considered by many a Canadian Lorrie Moore, lives in Baltimore. Likely blurb from Man Booker-shortlisted Alison Moore, author of The Lighthouse. A slim, attractive collection.