Since 1979 T. Coraghessan Boyle has wondered, sometimes with a strong hint of the irony that pervades most of his fiction, why he has not become as popular a writer as John Irving, John Updike, or even Stephen King. Critics and readers have praised his short-story collections and novels, and his short fiction appears regularly in prestigious magazines. Yet, he has never become a household name. Boyle was quoted in DLB Yearbook : 1986 as saying, "I'm still a wise guy from New York. . . . I've always felt that I would never compromise. I'd do exactly what I wanted and still get my audience." This defiant side of Boyle might explain why his short fiction is not widely admired by the general public while it continues to delight his faithful readers by pushing further and further the power of the short story to lampoon American pretensions and obsessions.

Boyle was born Thomas...