Lawson, John Edward. Discouraging at Best. Hyattsville: Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2007. 200 pp. $14.95. ISBN 9781933293196.

Discouraging at Best is the latest collection of stories from John Edward Lawson (Last Burn in Hell, Pocketful of Loose Razorblades). Never one to shy away from controversial subject matter, Lawson now takes on a cherished social structure: the idea of "family." The book is composed of four stories that provide intimate views into the inner workings of four very different families.

The first family we meet is the Havenots, a poor family led by an extremely abusive father. Tired of being poor, he attempts to raise some money by hiring out his son to give "whippings" to the neighborhood children. The next family includes a soon-to-be Nobel Prize winner on the night before the grand ceremony. Despite the joyous occasion, they are involved in a fight that could figuratively and literally tear them apart. The third story is about two brothers, an acid-tripping author, and a perverted store owner.

Next is the stand-out story of the book, "Maybe it's Racist." It is a tour of the White House and the first family laden with conspiracy theories and kinky sex. When a phrenologist gets unrestricted access to the President and his immediate family, she begins to uncover secrets that could tear the administration apart. Rounding out the book is a short piece that humorously and poetically ties all the stories together.

Billed as a collection of short stories, the book still could work as a novel. Each story is only vaguely related in content and characters, but they all address the similar theme of failed families. Despite the wide variety of approaches to the issue, each story is ultimately about individuals being hurt, physically or emotionally, by their family. It seems that Lawson has a lot to say on the matter and it's all bad.

The content of the stories moves from profoundly disturbing to surrealistically hysterical, giving the book a manic texture. Readers are constantly off balance as the subject matter is just as likely to be aliens as it is child abuse. Somehow this all works together and the stories do not feel like part of a collection, but their own exploration of the book's themes.

John Edward Lawson has written a powerful work with Discouraging at Best. Its stories are strong enough to stand on their own, but when taken in the thematic context of the rest of the book, they reveal added levels of meaning. Raw Dog Screaming Press has a real winner on their hands—a disturbing, thought-provoking, wildly humorous book. Highly recommended.

—Jeff Burk