The first stories from this collection were printed in the early 90's, and suddenly every where you turned there was another Thom Jones story. From janitor to literary star seemingly overnight, some dismissed him as a flavor of the month. Unbeknownst to most, Thom had been laboring at the craft for over twenty years. At the time, I was writing seriously, studying, workshopping, and these stories illuminated the impact of angry, manic characters armed with original voices. There is no way to overstate the impact of Thom Jones on my writing, or to properly credit his impact on the short story form. He is without question one of the best short story writers, ever.
Unfortunately, Thom has only published three collections in fifteen years. I read that he is suffering from health problems. Let's hope he heals up and delivers another collection soon.
Check his work here.
