That's True of Everybody - Paperback

by Mark Winegardner (Author)

The proprietor of a bowling alley whose artist daughter paints only phalluses. A ninth-grade girl who marries in haste only to be faced with her husband's impotence. A libidinous poet who learns the meaning of harassment. The life and loves of a professional lawn-mower. These are just a few of the distinctive stories that make up Mark Winegardner's remarkable debut short-story collection.
Winegardner, whose rich and epic novel Crooked River Burning gave the much-maligned city of Cleveland a fresh and vibrant aspect, now returns to the Midwest that he knows so intimately and casts a piercingly compassionate eye on its denizens. The result is a kaleidoscopic picture of a people who are arrogant and humble, faithful and disloyal, driven and floundering-a people who are finally, America itself.

Back Jacket

The depth of understanding that this collection of stories displays is profoundly impressive. The characters, whether on the verge of coming apart or coming to life, are treated with humanity and humor under the skillful influence of an expansive talent. -Antonya Nelson, author of Female Trouble

The proprietor of a bowling alley whose artist daughter paints only phalluses. A ninth-grade girl who marries in haste only to be faced with her husband's impotence. A libidinous poet who learns the meaning of harassment. The life and loves of a professional lawn-mower. These are just a few of the distinctive stories that make up Mark Winegardner's remarkable debut short-story collection.
Winegardner, whose rich and epic novel Crooked River Burning gave the much-maligned city of Cleveland a fresh and vibrant aspect, now returns to the Midwest that he knows so intimately and casts a piercingly compassionate eye on its denizens. The result is a kaleidoscopic picture of a people who are arrogant and humble, faithful and disloyal, driven and floundering--a people who are finally, America itself.

"Winegardner manages to find humor and moments of hope amid the chaos." --The Washington Post Book World
"[These] stories might be grand in scope, but it is attention to nuances of settings, plot and character that ultimately makes the difference in Winegardner's fiction." --The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Mark Winegardner is the author of the bestselling Crooked River Burning and the award-winning Veracruz Blues. He is currently at work on the next novel in the Godfather series, to be published by Random House. Mr. Winegardner is Janet Burroway Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida where he makes his home with his wife and three children.