It's not often I read work by a minority writer that doesn't rely on the sentimental exoticism of childhoods spent in foreign countries, magic spells, unfamiliar rituals and that kind of thing. Ed Vega tells it like it is and how he wishes it could be in these stories, and it's a heartbreaking collection that details lives lived on the fringes. Vega doesn't flinch from writing what he knows and letting us know that he knows it. Bravo! Slick, populist writing that's not ashamed of itself. Should be on the best seller lists right along side writers like King, Proulx, Rowling, and all the rest. Highly recommended for anybody who wants to know what it's like to yearn.

When I came across this book in a used book store, I thought, "What can I lose for fifty cents?" But I was in for a big surprise.

I lost track of time when I started reading Casualty Report. What descriptions, what characters! I felt like I had known these people all my life and was finally beginning to understand them. Not since the last Sidney Sheldon book I read have I been so lost in time. Mr. Vega combines the astute imagery of a John Grisham with the precise and detailed plotting of a Stephen King. Yet, he has a heart, and he is unafraid to show his embrace of sexual ambiguity by the tender way in which he portrays men in pain. Clearly Mr. Vega has taken his conflicts and made them into high art.

While I was reading this book, I couldn't help casting it for a Lifetime For Women channel movie. I could see Farrah Fawcett as the wronged wife, and Jaclyn Smith as the strong woman who is unmoved. I bet Ben Gazarra would be great as any of the men. And Will Smith could play the protagonist(s).

This is a book that should be in every doctor's waiting room in the country. I gave it to my dentist's receptionist and she loved it.