“There is a sly eye winking and a generous heart beating in every one of Ken Harvey’s delicious stories. Each is an ode to the apologetic love on thin ice that I treasure most on the page. What a find, and what a treat.”

“With humor and grace, Ken Harvey dissects the connective tissue between friends and lovers, parents and children. He knows the precise spot where joy and sorrow meet in the walls and chambers of the human heart. He knows that the ending of one story can be a bridge to the next. And he writes like an angel. What a wonderful debut.”

“Ken Harvey’s quirky characters find themselves always in the act of finding themselves — becoming, suffering, learning, changing. These are stories with heart, stories that matter. Read them for their craft, read them for their pitch-perfect prose, for their characters, for their sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-rending predicaments — but read them!”

“Ken Harvey’s wonderful stories explore the complexities of contemporary life with remarkable compassion, humor, and wisdom. His range and talent are evident on every page. This book is a delightful debut from a very accomplished writer.”

“These are gorgeous, heartfelt, mesmerizing stories. In fact, so much so that when I finished Ken Harvey’s book, I was faced with a major dilemma: Should I go right out and start buying copies for my friends or turn back to the beginning read all thirteen stories again?”

“By turns funny and moving, sweet and bracing, Ken Harvey’s stories are full of what one of his lovable characters calls ‘the soft and distant thump of life.’ A pleasure to read this talented debut collection.”

“The originality of Ken Harvey’s vision, the deceptive clarity of his style, and the timelessness of these stories’ themes literally took our committee’s collective breath away.”

“This collection of Ken Harvey’s short stories is one of those small press jewels that serves as the best argument for the existence of the small press.”

“Excellent. . .Ken Harvey delves into the issues of relationships, family, child-rearing and mortality with a new freshness that makes one eager for more of his work.”

“Ken Harvey “writes within the best tradition of American story-telling. . .describes society objectively, even in its distortions. He does this without forgetting that although cruelty is part of this world, it isn’t life’s sole protagonist.”

“A book that is hugely deserving of its award, if you were with me everything would be all right now deserves a correspondingly huge readership.”