Frederick Barthelme is a minimalist writer whose stories are anything but minimal. Labeled as "Dirty" or "Kmart" Realism, his work illustrates the immense feeling contained within the minute and seemingly uneventful details of ordinary life. From parking lots to grocery stores, and swimming pools to morning traffic, whatever space Barthelme's characters occupy there is an underlying tension that rises out from the mundane. In his post-ironic...