This book is a case study in why books should be taught as books. If I read any of these stories alone in an anthology (or for high school) I'd probably hate them. But the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I take deep aesthetic pleasure in this kind of structure, where the writer lays the parts down next to each other like Tarot cards and it's the reader's job to make the connections. Maybe I like feeling like the author has assigned me a task, like I'm involved in the experience. Like Hemingway thinks I'm smart. Maybe it reminds me of Dos Passos, or maybe it's just something I also like in Dos Passos. Maybe that's because I have a short attention span: I like the experience of vivid scenery flickering past. I like his style. I'm also interested in how he interrogates masculinity and violence. There's a lot to chew on here.