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"One of the best American novels to come down the pike in a long, long time." - Chris Nickson, novelist/music journalist

-We make love very slowly, partly to keep the water in the tub, but mostly 'cause that's just where we're at. In the haze of the drugs and the vodka, the candles and the steam, it's almost painfully like some very real thing. Like that five minutes of life, a long time ago, with someone else. When I pull out there is a little puff of blood into the water. It hangs there for a moment like a rosebud and then disappears. I don't know why, but it is the saddest goddamn thing I have ever seen. My hands are wet so I wipe my face. She sings, "'I said no, no, no, no, baby, please don't cry. No, no, no, baby, please.'"

When Some of the Best Novels Are 'Little' Now I plunge even further off the beaten path to the work of Thomas M. Atkinson, a man I call "the best author you've never read." His work is literary, real, detailed, dark, and as sharp as needles fresh out of the package. Thom's first novel, Strobe Life, was picked up by a small press, who gave it a bad cover and very little help being discovered. But that doesn't keep it from being well worth the read. And his story collection Standing Deadwood, while still waiting to be picked up in book form, is having wonderful success as individual stories. They have been published in The Sun, North American Review, Indiana Review, and other prestigious magazines. They've been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and have won more awards than I have room to list. Some can be read online, including "River's Edge," "Standing Deadwood," and "Blue Highway." - By Catherine Ryan Hyde for Off the Shelf