A mixed bag, but one with a lot more hits than misses. Like a 4:1 ratio. So not that mixed - there are just a few bad (or, more accurately, not-as-good) pieces in there.

Here’s the key to navigating around them: avoid the Proudfoot stories unless you like folksy bullshit. My tolerance for it is quite high, and there is still quite a bit of merit to these stories in the humor they inspire, but they become extremely repetitive, especially once you notice that they all end with Minnie reminiscing about her husband. “Watch With Me” is easily the worst story in this collection, simply because of how long it runs and the anticlimax it concludes with.

However, “The Solemn Boy” is quite good, and stands toe-to-toe with this collection’s best stories. “The Hurt Man,” especially, stopped me dead in my tracks. It’s the first story here, and packs such a whallop that I said to myself, “Damn, this is good.” “Pray Without Ceasing,” “Thicker than Liquor,” “The Boundary,” the title story, and “Fidelity” are also highlights.