New York Times Review

January 1, 2006

"Set in the swanky Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, Ore., the 12 stories in Rust's debut collection evoke a world of material privilege and emotional bankruptcy. Each story begins with a fairly innocuous item taken from the local newspaper's police blotter: a dead bird found in a mailbox, a naked man running in the park, a vicious cat, an "unknown hairy thing" stuffed in a garbage can. These cryptic, sometimes bizarre little items provide a fitting point of departure for Rust's fertile imagination. Forget about borrowing a cup of sugar from the neighbors; ever wonder what might happen if an infertile couple asked for some sperm? If a woman walked out on her husband and their 2-year-old daughter but took the dog? Eating disorders, divorce, cancer, class envy, postpartum depression, suburban anomie, Volvos with seat warmers: they're all here in lovely, privileged, unsettling Lake Oswego."

New York Times Review
January 1, 2006