Book excerpt: The extraordinary debut short story collection from the award-winning author of Family and Life is Short But Wide. "In its strong folk flavor, Cooper's work reminds us of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston ... It is a delight to read." —Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author "The label 'short' story is a woefully inadequate description of these intensely, explicitly moral tales. 'Parable' is more appropriate. Cooper's stories are rich in wisdom and insight." —Belles Lettres