How Animals Mate: Short Stories

It becomes easy to float through books of contemporary short stories, but every once in a while you'll come across a book like this one that will jar you out of any notions of complacency. Mueller's collection is multifarious, beautiful, frightening, distrubing and gives more hope for the state of fiction than any collection since Ken Kalfus' "Thirst" or George Saunder's "Civilwarland in Bad Decline". This is a brilliant collection, worthy of accolades and most certainly the attention of readers.

These stories span a range of human experience that is staggering. Mueller is compassionate in his scrutiny. He deftly, vividly conjures worlds and inner lives with language that is sharp and sparkling, smart and fully engaging. I've never read a story collection that didn't have one or two (or more) pieces fall flat--until now. This is a solid, stunning book.

Daniel Mueller is astoundingly good at what he does. The title story is moving and arresting and beautiful and sad and quite nearly perfect. And it doesn't go downhill from there. Anyone with an eye towards where the short story is today as a genre should read this book. It's wonderful!

I was fortunate enough to see a galley print of the book before it went to final press! Mueller is a GENIUS! Scary, but a Genius. I have not had the opportunity to glance at a mind like this in a while! The book will make you laugh, cringe and ge grateful that you don't live in minnesota!