I agree with Petra X's and Chuck's reviews. Ultimately my rating hinges on the fact that I'm an outside reader and I find some of the dialogue arrhythmic, and the renderings cold. It's true you could argue that the author uses dialect and stoic descriptions to reflect the reality and sometimes complacency of the circumstances portrayed. Perhaps it's a clever enthymeme to build our sympathy and understanding. But in a collection clearly written for an outside audience, the syntax reads too much like a halfway completed translation-- a foggy window into chaotic scenery, and far from effective.

In full disclosure, I only made it halfway through the longest 'story,' "Luxurious Hearses."