In his debut collection, winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 2005, Ebenbach gives us fifteen stories about fractured relationships, families splintering and romances that fall apart because the spaces between us are so large and sometimes impenetrable.

The collection opens with a short shot,"Misdirections." I was very taken with this story. Without giving too much away, it deals with the moment in a catastrophe, that last moment when we still think things might pull through and go right. It is a surprising and memorable story, and sets the tone for the collection perfectly.

In "Between Camelots" an uninvited barbeque guest expounds on his relationship problems while the narrator waits for his blind date. The idea of 'Camelots' represent groups of friends who have falling-outs because somebody sleeps with somebody and splinters the group. It is a clever idea and paves the way for many smart observations.

But these aren't quirky stories, nor are they the kind of 'somebody done somebody wrong' stories we see so often. There's an intensity of emotion, appreciation of language and an eye for frailty to these stories that make them stand out.