The Dunning Man

Named by Buzzfeed Books as one of the "22 Most Exciting Literary Debuts of 2014," features anti-heroes who reject society's rules. Characters from all walks of life--a philosophizing hip-hop star, a college girl trying to make sense of her infatuation with her wild best friend, a black sheep scion disillusioned by his morally corrupt family and friends, and a housewife trying to make peace with the past and her wayward husband. They each exist in the here and now, living for what's possible and what's left--not what they've left behind. These are powerful tales of truth seekers imbued with larger-than-life personalities and the all-consuming need to find something worth seeking. The stories in ... are funny, explosive and disarmingly moving... [they] pulse with life, and the men and women who figure in them are real people, regular people, working people. People like you and me. It's good to read about them again. --ESQUIRE The mostly Irish American characters in should know better by now. That they don't (repeating their trespasses again and again) is what makes them so compelling and all too real. --PARADE