“Simply stunning ... As close to flawless as any reader could ask for ... When I finished reading it, I wanted to blow a bugle to alert the public that a wonderful work of fiction by a major new talent has arrived on the scene. Please reserve a seat of honor at the high table of the art of fiction for Dorothy Allison. The special qualities of her style include a perfect ear for speech and its natural rhythms; an unassertive, cumulative lyricism; an intensely imagined and presented sensory world; and above all, a language for the direct articulation of deep and complex feelings.”

—New York Times

“This book will resonate with you like a gospel choir.”

—Barbara Kingsolver

“Compulsively readable ... Allison can make an ordinary moment transcendent with her sensuous mix of kitchen-sink realism and down-home drawl.”

—San Francisco Chronicle

“A hell of a writer—tough and loose, clear and compassionate.”

—Village Voice