The three brothers were raised in the same household, but their stories follow surprisingly divergent paths, displaying a potpourri of styles. The characters that inhabit their imaginary worlds range from rough-hewn cowboys to women of the theater and run the gamut of social class. The stories place these characters in a vast array of settings, from the rural Midwest to far-off Rio de Janeiro. Narrative voice may whisper intimate first person in the reader's ear or travel from the distance of third-person omniscience. Romance and love-besotted sex stand in contrast to the horror of pedophilia. The stories mark the passage of time, from childhood to old age. There are tales told from the few pages of sudden fiction to nearly the length of novelettes. Reality is reflected in stories of social realism and others of dream state. The mood may be lyrical or unsentimental.
Common threads hold these tales together. The search for social justice is prevalent. Deeply flawed characters display wellsprings of ethics and morality. Humor bends toward irony and parody. All these tales reflect delight in storytelling, as if the three brothers had spent their childhood sitting around a campfire listening to yarns that would mark them forever. Their hope is this: the readers will join them at the campfire and share that delight.
