These are stories that have appeared in George Singleton’s previous collections and in various publications; basically his greatest hits. Singleton’s South Carolina and his fictional towns are gloriously ridiculous. Calloustown, for instance, is a place where the citizens feel slighted to this day because General Sherman didn’t feel it worthy to be destroyed during his march, and so passed it by.

Several of the stories feature observant and thoughtful boys and young men who feel out of place and intuitively know that they need to leave their small town as soon as possible and not return. Others feature grown men who feel out of place in their small town but haven’t left and never will. Others feature men who have moved to a small town and feel out of place. There’s a theme.

“Fresh Meat on Wheels,” one of the out of place adolescent boy tales, is one of his best. In “Outlaw Head and Tail” a “pre-bouncer” in a bar keeps the peace with words of wisdom from the television show Bonanza. A couple of the stories explain why the narrator’s wife will become his ex-wife at some point. The cause usually seems to be because he just can’t seem to fit into society and fly right. Definitely a theme.

There are wickedly funny moments that pop out of each of these stories, and quite often. And like all good humor, the absurdity is surrounded and enhanced by the gravity of the situation. George Singleton, documenting his version of the south, is one of the best writers going now. ( )