From the author of the novel Swamplandia! — a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize — comes a magical and uniquely daring collection of stories that showcases the author’s gifts at their inimitable best. Within these pages, a community of girls held captive in a Japanese silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms and plot revolution; a group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow that bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing classmate that they used to torment; a family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West has grave consequences; and in the marvelous title story, two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try to slake their thirst for blood and come to terms with their immortal relationship. Vampires in the lemon grove -- Reeling for the Empire -- Seagull army descends on Strong Beach, 1979 -- Proving up -- Barn at the end of our term -- Dougbert Shackleton's rules for Antarctic tailgating -- New veterans -- Graveless doll of Eric Mutis