The Great American Everything

Gloden examines the porous boundaries of caregiving relationships in this witty collection. In The Birds of Basra, an unnamed narrator provides in-home care for an elderly woman named Marta Fontaine, despite disapproval from the narrator’s girlfriend, Telly, who claims the service the narrator works for is exploitive. But when Telly insists they continue living together in a tiny apartment and Marta’s funds dry up, the narrator realizes her bond with Marta might go deeper than a paycheck. What Is Louder revolves around conversations between brothers Rob and Tom, a soldier and a postal worker, about bomb threats at the post office. Rob points out that bombs look less like they do on television than “something you store in the garage,” but Tom has an instinct for detecting them. After the bomb squad takes one away, his coworker responds with some colorful dialogue: “Well, Jesus-motherfuck-me. It’s a good thing these guys have all day to dress up like goddamn Robocops.” In the title story, the narrator travels from Tennessee to New Mexico with his younger brother, Manny, after Manny convinces him there’s a mystery for them to solve together related to their grandfather’s recent death. Gloden enlivens the everyday situations with insightful social commentary and memorable voices. As slice-of-life stories go, these stand out. (May)