Erica Wagner
All these stories are about blended worlds and the problems inherent in that blending, no matter what wealth or luxury a place affords. The guys and dolls in Jimmy Rabbitte's new gang have last names like Boro, Bunuel, Stefanescu and Ivanov, and when he tries to bring them together as he had with the Commitments it seems as if it can't work: "The dynamic was different; they were older, foreign, the country was too prosperous, they weren't hungry—something." That "something" lies at the heart of this collection, and its elusiveness is captivating. As, of course, is Doyle's sense of humor.—The New York Times