I didn't like this collection at first. My first impressions were that it was overly clever in its attempt to be so spare. But it grew on me as I kept reading and I started to get a feeling that I understood what he was trying to get at. I liked it well enough that I plunged into Cathedral right away, but my impression is that I might like Cathedral better as the writing seems a little more fleshed out. I am also curious to see the text of "What we talk..." before the Lish editing that is supposed to be so dramatic. I definitely see myself coming back to this collection and trying it again.