Jeffrey McDaniel's poetry has a manic quality that trips into the surreal and yet he can be rooted in the most brutal realism. While McDaniel has been known in poetry circles for a while before this book as his previous books had been released by Manic D, but this is his first academic press poetry volume and his themes have matured and darkened here. Sobriety's lack and manic struggle run through the entirety of the book: Failed relationships and fatherhood, drugs, surreal imaginary, sexual tension, the problems of the South. His style feels a bit like Dean Young or Tony Hoagland in his metaphors, but his mood is darker. Some particularly stand-out poems are "Oblivion Chiclets"and "Air Empathy." Strongly recommended.