Tiny Love

If I had to choose my favourite literary sub-genre, “realism written by authors doing working-class jobs to support their writing” would likely be it, not just for the aesthetic itself but for how fantastical it now seems that this was ever a maintainable lifestyle.

Larry Brown was a fireman with only a high school diploma, and in his own words: Nothing but desire, no talent, and a love of the written word. What's so fascinating about this collection is how visible his progression is - each story is a hell of a lot better than the previous one. There's a recurring theme of writing against the current of constant rejections and the moods that this creates, which makes it all the more amazing that he nevertheless made it.