Moving with ease and assurance from war-torn Bosnia to a college sorority house to kill-or-be-killed Hollywood, David Gilbert writes about relationships teetering between cruelty and compassion with a profound understanding that belies his age.

The world in Remote Feed is a complex one, often hilarious, sometimes frightening, but never dull. In "Cool Moss," suburban couples hope to invigorate their monotonous social lives by throwing an alcohol-free theme party featuring a motivational speaker. But his words of inspiration are no match against the hope for gin and tonics. In "Graffiti," a petty con man turned elementary-school janitor reads to a blind woman and starts a bizarre literary waltz.

Two stories are set in the Galapagos Islands, where human desires play out against the natural world, with consequences both funny and disturbing. And in "Anaconda Wrap," a movie executive, whose film about the Donner party is a massive flop, escapes to Montana to live out a distinctly modern version of the pioneer dream.