Wanderers and writers, gangbangers and lawyers, dreamers and devils. The King of Lighting Fixtures paints an idiosyncratic but honest portrait of Los Angeles, depicting how the city both entrances and confounds. Each story serves as a reflection of Daniel A. Olivas's grand City of Angels, a "magical metropolis where dreams come true."

The characters here represent all walks of L.A. life--from Satan's reluctant Craigslist roommate to a young girl coping with trauma at her brother's wake--and their tales ebb and flow among various styles, including magical realism, social realism,...