From loss, illness, and addiction to spooky offspring, dry skin, and inexplicable hope, this collection of “pretty” stories demonstrates how decidedly average people can be mortified?if not devastated?by new circumstances. A middle-aged, HIV-positive gay man, deformed by the side effects of protease inhibitors, is savaged by the flippant small talk of canny young men. A fundamentalist Christian housewife thrills from her newfound carnality, only to be saddled with the homeschooling of her four special-needs children. A washed-up but content pop star is pursued by a pair of shrill documentary filmmakers intent on turning the woman’s life into arty tragedy, even if it kills them all. Mordant, brash, hysterically funny yet always compassionate, these stories give voice to characters moved to speak in spite of themselves.

GREG KEARNEY is the author of Mommy Daddy Baby and the playwright of 555-555-5555, The Betty Dean Fanzine, Cancun, and The Cry Sisters. His most recent book, Pretty, won the 2012 ReLit Award in the Short Fiction category. He is the former resident humor columnist for Xtra!Magazine and lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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"One of the funniest books to be published in recent memory."  —Literary Review of Canada

"Greg Kearney’s second collection is sure to be one of the most distinctive and original books published this year."  —Quill & Quire

"Promises to shock those with delicate sensibilities, but those whose curiosity compels them to give it a read will find its best stories combine empathy with wit, prurience with precision."  —National Post