I'm trying to learn about quantum physics right now, and how particles are all "wave functions" -- a cloud all possibilities, rather than a fixed point. That's how this book feels: a cloud of possible futures and pasts and presents humming around the extraordinary imagined place of Cross River, Maryland.

It's a triumph of speculative fiction. It's also a mean and biting book, and I get why not everyone loves it. Real gallows humor about race. Shocking decisions. The main characters of these stories are often brutal. They are also always men. I wouldn't want to be any of the women who show up as side-characters.