I picked this up in a used book store in the 80s. At first I had no idea what I was getting into. It creeps up on you, so ho-hum, the characters so matter-of-fact. Then it dawned on me I was reading humor book so dry it was masterful. The situations are ridiculous, but Nearing tells them so well you don't notice it until they smack you in the face. The author was a college professor and each story is masterfully laid out. I lost that old copy years ago and was happy to find a copy on Amazon. Just a great piece of writing and it's a pity Nearing did not produce more fiction. ( )