I'm thoroughly enjoying this contemporary fiction book right now!   The character-driven short stories are like fleshed out chapters, written with detail, humor, a fine ear, and a gentle grace. If you like Raymond Carver or Anne Tyler, I think you'll like this book. For anyone who has read it... point me to other similar books! Unfortunately, my copy won't be postable (a tear in the cover)... I don't know whether or not I'll be passing it along.