Harcourt, 2002

— An interview with the author.

— Order That’s True of Everybody

The proprietor of a bowling alley whose artist daughter paints only phalluses. A ninth-grade girl who marries in haste only to be faced with impotence. A libidinous poet who learns the meaning of harassment. A gifted basketball player whose fraternal twin sister is awarded $200,002 for being pregnant. The life and loves of a professional lawn mower. The life and death of a drive-in movie theater. All of these elements make up the multicolored canvas of Mark Winegardner’s debut short-story collection. Winegardner, whose rich and epic novel, Crooked River Burning, gave the much maligned city of Cleveland, Ohio, a fresh and vibrant aspect, returns to the Midwest that he knows so intimately and casts a piercingly compassionate eye on its denizens who lead lives of not necessarily quiet desperation. The result is a kaleidoscopic picture of a people who are arrogant and humble, faithful and disloyal, driven and floundering—a people who are, finally, America itself.

“Mark Winegardner is a smart, wickedly funny writer, and That’s True of Everybody shows him at his very best. This is a remarkable and addictive collection. These sly and sharply written stories uncover the secret hearts of his middle-class characters in a way that is, quite possibly, dangerous.”
— Dan Chaon, author of Among the Missing

“The depth of understanding that this collection of stories displays is profoundly impressive. Mark Winegardner not only appears to know his own backyard, but those of a generation and gender other than his own, as well. The characters in That’s True of Everybody, whether on the verge of coming apart or coming to life, are treated with humanity and humor, and under the skillful influence of an expansive talent. This writer will entertain, instruct, and delight, and that’s certainly not true of everybody.”
— Antonya Nelson, author of Female Trouble

“There’s a gritty realism to Winegardner’s tales that never lets them sink into the airy pointlessness of so much contemporary fiction. The real virtue here is that Winegardner is able to portray an ordinary but intriguing world that’s rarely the subject of literary fiction—as in “Last Love Song at the Valentine,” which sketches entire generation in the life of a small town by following the history of its one drive-in movie theater. A short string of gems in a beautifully constructed and well-ordered collection.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“There are no small stories in this fine collection. Some stories span seasons, others years—and each one documents the valor and vices of the human heart. Winegardner’s ordinary midwestern characters often find themselves on extraordinary quests, and the results are uniformly riveting and revealing. An entertaining and illuminating collection.”
— Booklist

Read . . .

“Halftime” in The Barcelona Review.

“Keegan’s Load” in Oxford American. — Selected for New Stories from the South 2003

“Song for a Certain Girl” in Ploughshares.