It's hard to give a collection like Volt a star rating. I think I rated it high more because I respected it because I'm not sure I liked it as much as four stars would imply. But that's not being entirely fair because I did like it, but putting my thoughts together as to why would be difficult. There is the obvious answer that it's incredibly well written, interesting, and has a deeper meaning than much of what I or anyone else reads. At the same time, it's pace is slow, deliberately, and it's not something those short of attention span should even attempt. In many ways it reminds me of the only Faulkner novel I ever read (most of). I wasn't a fan of Faulkner, to be honest, and while I may yet try him again in the future, the first time I read him I felt like there was nothing more boring in all the world that I could read. I did not think that about Heathcock's stories, which maybe says that I'm a more mature reader and should try out the masters of American Lit. once more. This also places Heathcock in pretty august company, and whether or not he is worthy of being among them is irrelevant because he brings them to mind.

The stories in Volt all have a common thread because they're all set in the same town. This is never explicitly declared, and I didn't realize it until about halfway through the book when I started seeing similar names and character descriptions popping up. I expected to read a book of disconnected short stories, and instead I found myself reading a pseudo-novel. The stories have no other connection than their setting and characters though, and because of that they do remain a series of stories rather than a whole story. The town these characters live in is rural and for the most part sad. In many ways it reminded me of the movie Winter's Bone, though it has lighter moments than that mostly dark film. The lighter moments revolve around people coming together in familial ways, though Heathcock manages to keep over-sentimentality from diluting his words. Death is common in these stories, and when it isn't death, it's madness of one sort or other; whether it's a man fleeing into to the woods to live a primal existence for months on end or the sheer weary, brain-numbing madness of a sheriff who has had to deal with too much in too short a time. And for anyone wanting resolutions in their story, look elsewhere, because Volt doesn't offer them. It delivers up reality in a dose most people would be uncomfortable with, and leaves things just as open ended as life does. Thankfully, it does so with words we can respect and believe.