Summary

The first story in the collection is entitled “Salted Circus Cashews, Swear to God.” A woman is on a date with a man, and the date is going well. Back at the man’s place, the man hands the woman a can of cashews. The woman reads the label, which makes it increasingly obvious—through staunch denial—that the can is actually a prank prop filled with springs that are set to pop out of the can when opened. The fine print on the label gradually becomes more personal, discussing the woman’s past heartbreaks. The label ends by unconvincingly reiterating that the can of cashews is not a prank, and that, “This time things are going to be wonderful” (4).

The next story is entitled “Short Stories.” It consists of ten one-to-two-sentence stories about...