From the author of , , and come two twisted tales of hope, humor, and love. dissects comedy and death in dazzling new stories of literary fiction from novelist Larry Francis. lampoons all in its path - including joke-telling itself - as it multifariously chronicles Barry Doblin's ill-fated return to his much-altered hometown. Along the way, between the lines, this allusive tale satirizes politics, religion, family, beauty and more. James Joyce and Ludwig Wittgenstein are particularly prominent targets. "The two self-contained stories in share a time-honored literary bloodline - both are cautionary tales of doomed salvific missions."