Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned - Wells Tower

An exciting debut, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $24), by Wells Tower, signals the arrival of a major literary talent. These nine stories display psychological insight, compassion, wit, and unforgettable characters.  In the title piece a group of Viking marauders, tired of pillaging, longs for the comforts of home.  In another, two estranged brothers reunite at the older one’s half-built cabin, only to discover that their family bond is equally untenable.  Most of the stories here tackle the subject of middle-aged-male disillusionment, and they succeed because they are honest, sometimes funny, and always compelling.