In these 21 brief, funny stories, Jodzio documents his characters' disappointment, frustration, and longing for a home that seems forever out of reach. By turns bleak and hopeful, cruel and tender, this is an exciting literary debut.

The work of John Jodzio has already made waves across the literary community. Some readers noticed his nimble blending of humor with painful truths reminded them of George Saunders. His creativity and fresh voice reminded others of Wells Tower's Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. But with his new collection, Jodzio creates a class of his own.

Knockout is the unified collection of stories that create flawless portraits of deeply flawed figures on the edge of the American Dream. A recovering drug addict gets tricked into stealing a tiger. A man buys a used sex chair from...

John Jodzio, whose recent breakout collection Knockout was hailed by the New York Times Book Review ("every story inventive and a pleasure to read") and NPR ("He s a compassionate writer who is refreshingly unafraid to take risks, and his book is, well, a knockout"), returns with this expanded and updated edition of his cult classic. Jodzio has been lauded for his writing that delicately walks the line between the pain and humor of human experience, the small truths that are exposed through ludicrous situations, and the captivating characters that must navigate them."