Broken hearts, shattered souls, abandoned ideals, and inescapable fates are just a few of the themes Tad Simons plumbs in The Bleeder, a collection of tragi-comic tales in the tradition of Robertson Davies, T.C. Boyle, and-when the mood is particularly dark and funny-Roald Dahl. A boy who falls in love with the school nurse but can't understand her shameful secret. A young couple whose relationship is suddenly redefined by a gruesome traffic accident. An office worker who finds himself trapped in a terrifying nightmare of 21st-century capitalism. Their spirits tested by a flawed and often pitiless world, none of these characters survives unscathed. Some don't survive at all. In these pages you'll also find several misfits, bullies, and charlatans whose solutions to life's problems are as misguided as they are hilarious. Simons has a knack for filtering the American experience through a clarifying lens of skepticism and compassion. Balancing tragedy and humor with a sly sense of satire, these wonderfully engrossing tales are not just short stories, they are "armchair entertainment" of the highest order.