The eponymous first story in this four-story collection is a fictional, first person retrospective of the life of a Brooklyn judge in his old age through the filter of his physical decline and dementia, all taking place on the last day of his life before his murder. While I can relate to the setting in Manhattan, having spent time in the city over the years, it’s not the storyline or setting that I find appealing. Rather it’s the stream of conscious, staccato delivery of McCann’s writing. He delivers from the protagonist a play-by-play riverine flood of thoughts and feelings from his long life, triggered by what he’s experiencing in each current moment. I could do without McCann’s vulgarity, which is not necessary for a story like this to unfold. I found an occasional pithy insight that lingers. Like this one, as Mr. Mendelssohn contemplates his abundance of free time: “Odd thing, time. So much of it now and we spend it all looking back.” We all have an inner dialogue playing on loop inside our heads. Much of it we wouldn’t share with anyone. It’s compelling to see McCann explore this voice in this story.