Paper Products — James W. Hall

In these funny, lyrical, and often sexy tales, James Hall's people … eccentrics and misfits, diehards and outcasts … are both magical and hilariously real.
The mayor of a fading Kentucky town changes its fate by renaming it Miami Beach and mesmerizing its people until pink bikinis and flamingos blossom in its streets. A cheerleader hypnotizes stadiums full of people.An avant-garde artist comes home to flaunt her radical chic and gets her comeuppance in a sad and moving finale. A young man escapes his arsonist mother to seek excitement by prospecting for gold and racing stock cars, only to fall in love with a woman fleeing from an even more dangerous past.
These are tales of people cursed and blessed by their powers and engaged in mythic struggles with the mundane realities of life. They are the vivid creations of one of America's most impressive young writers.