"An often vivid collection of urban tales that's full of memorable characters. New York City and the wide range of people who call it home are at the center of the 12 stories in Callaro's collection. In 'A Seduction of Oleanders, ' a young woman from Vermont, who's been transformed from a 'country rube to an adroit city navigator' by four years at New York University, battles with her mother about returning to her home state. 'The Derev'ya Social Club' sees Russian émigrés in a cafe in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, gossiping and nibbling biscuits while images of 'Stravinsky, Plisetskaya, and Gorbachev' look on from the walls; after years of friendship, how well do the émigrés really know each other? 'The Cold Room' ventures back to 1974, as a straitlaced 16-year-old boy from a similarly straitlaced family gets a job at a supermarket, only to find that the rules of adult life aren't quite as clear as he'd imagined. In 'Uncle John, ' Julian Serra, a 'native New Yorker with no interest in mock pleasantries, ' heads back to his home city after years in California; he's forced to confront his own abrasive nature as he lends a hand to an elderly and astute family friend. These and the other tales in Callaro's collection feature believable and distinct characters; for instance, it's easy to imagine Julian's temper flaring as he berates waitstaff, as well as his compassion emerging for an old man. However, other characters' backgrounds are relegated to dry exposition, as in 'The Derev'ya Social Club, ' in which Alexi's father is vaguely described as 'a man of culture who always carried some book of poetry in his suit pocket.' Still, the stories often contain keen insights, as when the boy from 'The Cold Room' is left to ponder: If life's rules are so often 'ephemeral notions to be discarded, ' then what, if anything, is worthy of trust? An often vivid collection of urban tales that's full of memorable characters." -Kirkus Reviews

2024 PenCraft Award Winner for Literary Excellence

2025 Indie Book Award Finalist

"I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of memorable short stories, which I think is notable for its authentic characters, predicaments and settings. The characters' efforts to confront and manage the consequences of their choices in a difficult world seem real and subtle. Callaro tells stories that are specific and believable, and he does so with just the right amount of tension, evoking emotions that stayed with me after reading the book. As a collection, the pieces fit together well, asking universal questions about meaning and truth. And, as a New Yorker, too, I loved the descriptions of our fair city. A smart and thought-provoking read." -Pamela Gwyn Kripke, author of And Then You Apply Ice