The first story in this collection, “The Pedersen Kid,” is phenomenal. A gripping, suspenseful story of a child found nearly frozen in a snowstorm. Perhaps the bar was set too high with this one as none of the others quite lived up to it, although each had some memorable moments and was well executed. They depict characters in rural life, typically poor, and perhaps driven mad by the weather (or just midwest life). The final eponymous story takes more of an avant-garde style and is probably better than I am recalling it, so I might reread that one. This is the only Gass I’ve read so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found it a bit of a mixed bag with some really strong highlights.