An unsettling, shocking and very funny collection of stories. The characters in this extraordinary book are often - on the surface - depraved, vicious, cowardly and manipulative, but their essential humanity is never undermined. Two professors of philosophy turn pugilists; Leith removal men become the objects of desire for Hollywood goddesses; God turns Boab Coyle into a house-fly; and in the novella, "A Smart Cunt", the drug-addled young hero spins off on a collision course with his past.