This is darkly funny, like a dark comedy. It turns a little darker at the end, when it deals with an ugly subject-- but it's a good climax, a good story. I picked this because I like when a story centers on one well-drawn character and a plot that is driven by that character's faults and desires. I wasn't expecting this to be so funny--some people might not think it is. 
 I realized right away that Eileen isn't as miserable as she thinks she is. She is and she isn't. She's telling the story as looking back at her 24-year-old sorry self from the perspective of old age, and she realizes all her faults. She did have a burden caring for her drunk father; but did it surprise me when she gets drunk with him and many times after? No. She drives around in a car with a broken exhaust, too inactive to do anything about it. "I preferred to wallow in the problem, dream of better days." Expertly written, nothing fancy, just an intriguing story taking place in the few days before Christmas in a Massachusetts town when someone new comes into Eileen's life.