Jimmy Lagowski Saves the World

"Two days before he was scheduled for jury duty and/or to commit suicide, Jimmy Lagowski received a postcard in the mail..." and so begins the title story in this masterful collection of interwoven narratives. Here: a badly-burned, depressed, and possibly alien 20-year-old is the lone vote of dissension in a controversial murder trial; a promising college sophomore ponders the implications of taking the morning-after pill; a retired maintenance man confronts his violent past in the checkout line of a discount supermarket; and a brilliant geologist struggles to recount the accidental death of an innocent child. Separately, these stories tell the tales of broken lives in 2012 Midwest America. Together, they tell a fearless and cohesive story of human tragedy, revenge, and forgiveness.