The stories in Quim Monzo’s A Thousand Morons (Open Letter, Dec.) are charged with humor, heart, and a playful sense of irony, as each story toes the fine line between absurdity and realism. In “Love Is Eternal,” a chance encounter leads a man to rekindle a romance with an old lover. After a friend informs him that she’s terminally ill but without revealing her disease, the man decides to marry her, a decision contingent on her inevitable death from her undisclosed illness. When she doesn’t die, the man begins to re-evaluate their relationship, which leads to a surprisingly tender conclusion. In “A Cut,” a wispy boy gushes blood from his neck after he’s attacked by bullies. The boy storms into class late, only to be verbally assaulted by his teacher about his terrible manners, lack of punctuality, and serious disregard for societal etiquette. A Thousand Morons shows Monzo at his finest, as these stories serve as microcosms of his unique imagination and are must reading for those interested in first-rate contemporary fiction.