With no real plot to speak of, and an amorphous form, Hope and Wild Panic is a book that defies categorization and concise, catchy jacket copy. It's a collection of microfiction, or it's a novel-in-stories, or it's something else. Neither. Both. Doesn't matter. It's about a guy who is forever out of place in his adopted town, even if he's a regular at the Piggly Wiggly. It's about a guy who really loves his wife.
This book is what you might call voice-driven fiction, and the voice is sublime. Wry. Thoughtful. Strange. Sean Ennis is a master. With the short page count and ample white space, Hope and Wild Panic presents as a quick read, but the force of the sentences will slow you down. 80 stories. 202 pages. One magnificent book.