The Pugilist at Rest

This title is the anomaly on my list. For one, it’s a collection of short stories rather than a standalone work. Also, there’s no overt psychedelia in it.

Nevertheless, I wanted to include it because many of the best stories in this collection have a gritty realism in them that gives way suddenly to moments of intense grace and spiritual insight. That insight may come in the form of brain damage after a boxing fight gone wrong, treatment for terminal cancer, or some other seemingly unfortunate turn.

But Jones has a gift for crafting vibrant, larger-than-life characters who know how… show more.