"Read alone, each story in Lauren Groff́s electric collection is an individual triumph ́ bold, agile, and packed with power. Read together, they hum in exhilarating resonance. Ranging from the 1950s to the present day and moving across age, class, and region ́ from New England to Florida to California ́ these nine stories reflect and expand upon a shared theme: the ceaseless battle between humanś dark and light angels. 'In every human there is both an animal and a god wrestling unto death,' one character tells us. Among those we see caught in this match are a young woman suddenly responsible for her disabled sibling, a hot-tempered high school swimmer in need of an adult, a mother blinded by the loss of her family, and a banking scion endowed with a different kind of inheritance. Motivated by love, impeded by the double edges of other peopleś good intentions, they try to do the right thing for as long as they can" --