"What's remarkable about Thomas Cobb's stories is that they manage, simultaneously, to be so hot and so cool. He takes a bead on men and their illusions-boys, too, halfway toward the adult passion that will forever bedevil them-and what he fixes in his sights is the male animal in extremis, pained, full of longing, and finally made sympathetic by his tough and honest observation."-Rosellen Brown "These stories are built of small moments hauntingly rendered. And they are strong enough to bear the heft and heartbreak of adult life. The funny disorder of it all is made memorable by Mr. Cobb, and his work is worth reading, and even singing, aloud."-Fredrick Busch "Thomas Cobb, in this stunning collection of short stories, draws unrelenting portraits of cruelty, whether it's the ravages of age in 'Ball Hawks' or the 'costly hobby' of dying in 'Oncology.' Even the 'acts of contrition' are twisted. In revealing the truths of human predatory instincts, Cobb continues to show that he is a master of characterization and one of our most daring craftsmen."-Jeffrey Greene, author, French Spirits