About The Book

Robin Hemley writes with a precision as generous as it is funny about couples falling out, children growing up, and loners getting by. He makes the hokey-pokey dance in thirteen stories about the world as we thought we knew it.

A man digs a hole in his ex-wife’s backyard, shoveling for hours with no hope of finding anything but dirt. A woman arranges her husband’s wake as a reconstruction of their first date (“Les ordered the London broil and I had the trout . . .”). A teenager stranded at a retirement resort rebels under the care of a great aunt notable for her purse “about the same size and shape as an armadillo.”

The characters in these stories make mistakes and make amends. They stay with you. And with All You Can Eat, Robin Hemley proves himself a writer of uncommon, luminous gifts.

Praise

“Impressive . . . Mr. Hemley’s stories are filled with powerful surrealistic images, some of them frightening, some of them funny. . . . Dazzling.” –Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

“Contemporary, very weird and often very funny in a grim way, the 13 short stories in this collection dance around the edges of reality, occasionally poking their heads in to see how things are going.” –People

“Hemley’s stories are smart, enjoyable, and . . . poignant as they reveal life’s pain and underlying sadness.” –Gail Pool, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“Although the stories are contemporary, Hemley’s truths are universal and cunningly conveyed with both humor and awe.” –Booklist

“Sharp, wonderfully funny, and a real pleasure to read.” –Barry Hannah

“A wickedly honest writer, a bad boy dealing a dangerous pure prose that flashes through your system like a divine slap.” –Bob Shacochis

“Haunting and hilarious, Robin Hemley’s stories reveal the poignant underside of American life. He is a subtle, yet dazzling new writer.” –Norma Klein

“These swift and modern tales prove once again that there are other ways to survive in these times than through the solemn descent of grace.” –Joy Williams