...because I'm a big fan of Larry Brown--especially his first collection of short stories, "Facing the Music." This second collection didn't seem to offer anything new--the best stories cover themes and ideas already presented in the first collection, and the worst stories (like the 40 page centerpiece, "Discipline") are experimental fiction gone awry. If you haven't read "Facing the Music" or "Joe," you're missing out on one of our best contemporary writers--both of those books merit 5 stars in my opinoin, but this one's a pass.