McGuane's fictions exist on a continuum in relation to one another: as several commentators have pointed out, they frequently share common themes, and the main character of one novel often seems to be a permutation of his immediate predecessor. With his first novel, The Sporting Club (1969), one can see the beginning of McGuane's concern with the contest between men, and of his extreme and often outrageous treatment of sexuality. Panama (1978), his fourth novel, marks a departure in its use of first-person narration, but remains linked to the others in its autobiographical reference, a little explored but often mentioned constant in McGuane's work. Nobody's Angel is a leaner, more controlled narrative, less forced in its stylization and, in the opinion of many critics, more heartfelt.

Its portrait of Patrick Fitzpatrick's "sadness-for-no-reason" is a poignant variation on the afflictions of McGuane's earlier protagonists. Something to be Desired offers...