Originally published in 1996, the first book from the author of Booker-listed Solar Bones is a dark, uncanny collection of stunning breadth and audacity. In this gothic, virtuoso debut collection (a New York Times Notable Book), Mike McCormack dispenses nightmares both stylish and macabre. A Is for Ax offers alphabetized look at the killing of a parent, while the title story tracks a chilling sibling rivalry. Other works here offer multiple-quiz on the road to Calvary, a door-to-door saleswoman trafficking in strange and menacing feats, and a self-mutilating artist pushing himself to the limit. These sly and dangerous stories show us a young writer who was already a master of wicked formal play, and whose sly takes on life and death remain profoundly unsettling.