Between Wrecks
These 14 short stories are set in North Carolina and other southern states, feature people at the ends of their tethers, and are written with degrees of satire and irony.  Many are set in bars, others in homes, and, most memorably, two are anomalies, with one set in a diner and the other in a multitude of spots in Tennessee.  Characterization is at points spotty, while humor is omnipresent—slapstick, setups, talking animals, satire, and irony all play roles in the stories.  The two strongest stories star Stet Looper, following him from when he loses his wife, Abby, until he develops a career as an academic writer.  “Between Wrecks” finds Looper, during the closure of the main road in two places, in a normally sleepy diner that is flooded by people stranded by two wrecks. “I Would Be Remiss,” an 80-page novella, is Stet’s outrageously funny acknowledgment addendum to his biography, No Cover Available, about an African American sushi chef in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  Admirers of southern writing as well as Singleton’s fans will enjoy this tour de force of comic writing. --Ellen Loughran