The pages of Far From the Thick of Things drip with incongruous, dreamlike images: a clever trollup braving an earthquake on a London street, a garage sale genie who takes wishes instead of granting them, a theater actress who meets her former self at a graffiti-strewn dead end. It's these absurd juxtapositions-the extraordinary in the ordinary-that reveal the mechanics of the universe, as well as the inner-workings of our own hearts. 83,535-word Far From the Thick of Things uses language itself to reveal the human condition, but only the spaces between can breathe metaphysical truth. Equal parts whimsy and poignancy, this collection of short stories is populated with colorful, diverse characters. We meet them at different stages of life, observing the dots that connect over time, weaving a mysterious tapestry of destiny, free will, and complete randomness. Some of the eccentric characters are cuddly, others prickly and rough around the edges. But all are-like us-redeemable.