Book excerpt: A hilarious collection of overlapping stories that explores the dark zone between artistic ambition and its achievement by the author of Early Work. Bookended by the misadventures of Leslie, an aspiring writer who moves form New York to Missoula, Montana, hoping to shake off lingering depression, this story collection follows young people pushed hard against—and often crashing into—their limits as not only would-be Tolstoys but also functioning, feeling human beings. As Martin’s characters age out of punk shows and all-night benders and into book clubs and elaborate weddings, they find that neither family life nor community ties can quite shore up the dam against despair. Has redemption through art ever been more than a pipe dream? Could writing the perfect sentence ever make such broken lives turn out right? Or is it time to sell the books and head for the barricades? Whatever the case, Andrew Martin’s winsome malcontents can be counted on to make agonized indecision cool again for the twenty-first century. Praise for Cool for America Long-listed for the Story Prize “Fun, irresistible, smart and wise . . . Shot through with flashes of crackling lucidity.” —Nathan Deuel, Los Angeles Times “Simultaneously sharp and self-lacerating and generous and agreeable.” —Matthew Schneier, The New York Times Book Review