Great opening to a fun book: Pre-performance jitters in a male chorus. The character imagines it is a taste of what being in a battle is like.

The last Johnson book I tried to read was 'Fiskadoro', I could not finish it. This made me very gloomy, because I believe in Johnson. But science fiction is not an area where he is gifted, even though I know that book has many fans.

He has a gift for describing a certain faction of America. The only way I can think to describe this faction is tattered, intelligent people, often prone to addictions - the sort of colorful guy you remember talking to at a gas station, or the lady who says provocative, mysterious things in Sunday school, or maybe even yourself. This faction is not defined by any political party or social class exactly. It is hard to describe. In 'Already Dead', a book I found boring, I had to keep reading becuase the characters were so spot on. They are real people who don't get a lot of space or dialogue in stories, and the most wonderful thing about these Johnson characters is what they say.

It's a small book, but very funny and exciting.

The paintings on the front and back cover of this book are excellent.