The twenty-two wide-ranging, illustrated stories, in this debut collection, are as chillingly inventive as they are emotionally provoking. The opening story, "A FANCIFUL INTERPRETATION," tells of a farmworker, who keeps a literary journal, in which he writes of a real life encounter his mother deems imaginative fiction. A treasured family garment in "THE OVERCOAT" serves to cover more than just its wearer. A country walk in "BOWSEY WOOD" affects relationships as it mystifyingly shocks them. In "JESSE JAMES," a young boy is challenged by his infamous outlaw idol. In "ACROSS THE CRYSTAL SEA,"...