This book gets extra points from me because it was written by a guy in my high school graduating class.

This book of short stories seems to explore what it is to be a man, from the points of view of men going through hard times. There's a confused divorcé trying to rebuild on the coast of North Carolina, an off-track real estate investor ineffectively trying to make peace with a semi-estranged brother, a carnival community rocked by a molestation, a middle class man forced to do kindness for his ex-wife's new boyfriend. There are women and girls, too, but these stories have a uniquely male vibe.

In many ways, these stories of male anti-heroes are refreshing. Hearing about men who are struggling in very human ways being very candid about their perspective, emotion, motivations, etc. While there are many, many men represented in literature, so often they are 1-dimensional stereotypes and Tower fleshes them out a bit. These men face and solve problems in what seem to me uniquely male ways. In this post-feminist age, it's not often we get to read about men being men without apologizing for their maleness.

The stories shift perspective, from 1st to 2nd to 3rd, which I enjoyed as the author handled all of these successfully. Tower is uniquely creative in his use of metaphor. That being said, his metaphors tend to be a bit hard-boiled and shocking, to the point of sometimes tittering on the edge of cliché as a result.

Overall, I'd say this debut book is a worthwhile read, but perhaps not for those looking for a feel-good beach book.