Ratings4
Average rating3.5
“Hands down my favorite book of the year.” -- Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of The Dutch House and Commonwealth From the New York Times bestselling author of The Family Fang comes his first short story collection in nearly a decade, combining his signature quirkiness with his keen eye for emotional complexity to explore the fraught relationship between parents and children. “Wildfire Johnny” is the story of a man who discovers a magic razor that allows him to travel back in time. “Scroll Through the Weapons” is about a couple taking care of their underfed and almost feral nieces and nephews. “Signal to the Faithful” follows a boy as he takes a tense road trip with his priest. And “Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine,” the title story, is about a narcissistic rock star who moves back home during a rough patch. These stories all build on each other in strange and remarkable ways, showcasing Wilson’s crackling wit and big heart. Filled with imagination and humor, Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine is an exuberant collection of captivating and charmingly bizarre stories that promise to burrow their way into your heart and soul. "Wildfire Johnny" will be the first project in development with “The Great” actor Nicholas Hoult and MRC Television.
Reviews with the most likes.
After I finished reading and loving Kevin Wilson's latest book Nothing To See Here, I started looking through his previous work and immediately marked this to read next after seeing the first line in its description: “‘Wildfire Johnny' is the story of a man who discovers a magic razor that allows him to travel back in time.”
The way Wilson writes just pulls me right in and I'm not sure why. His characters are fairly archetypical, but he brings them to life with a certain nuance and believability that I just enjoy spending time with them.
I liked all of these stories and I think each of them had something interesting to say, but a lot of them felt a little slight or unfinished by the end. None of them hit me as a great, complete story. But I'm not sure that they were supposed to, they are all thin slices of a theme, and sometimes that's okay.