The novella comprises half the book. The remainder consists of eight short stories and ruminations ranging from "flash fiction" of a page or two, such as the one above and "The Road Taken," to longer tales of 20-22 pages each like "Azazel," "Silence," and "Stephen."
Most of the stories were written during a 10-year span when the author expatriated and lived in a succession of eight countries on three continents for extended periods of time.
As the book's back cover reveals, the novella introduces the reader to "a deranged author (who) goads a barroom buddy into serving as his fictional foil." In a single phrase, it's a mind-bender, and thus the title..