Ladies and Gentlemen -- the eagerly awaited collection of short stories by Adam Ross, whose stunning debut novel, Mr. Peanut, received wide international acclaim. In a New York Times Book Review cover story, Scott Turow called Ross an βauthor of prodigious talent,β while New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani dubbed him βa literary gymnast . . . [and] a sorcerer with wordsβ with βDavid Foster Wallaceβlike descriptive powers.β Set in New York, Virginia and Nashville, Ladies and Gentlemen is about our constant struggle to resist the temptation of cruelty and the power of stories we tell to save or doom us, and it confirms the authorβs wide-ranging talent, leaving no reader unimpressed.