STUCCO HYMNS is a gaggle of short stories featuring two hangings, a reworked Replacements song, a sinkhole, manscaping, and a stuffed octopus. It's been in and out of rehab, grows more unemployable every year, and remains single by choice. Its favorite color is black. "A remarkable book, and not in a good way." -Jason's Mom "Jason Bargueño uses words the way a bird feeds its young: he meticulously chews up the English language and then regurgitates it into our gaping maws. This is what keeps our hearts beating, our blood flowing. And then, repulsive though it may be, we squawk for more." -Johnny Mack, author of The Pinned Butterfly "The table of contents alone is worth the price of admission. In fact, the table of contents might be the best part. Probably just read the table of contents. If you keep going, be prepared to feel (weird) (dark) (sick) things you have never felt before, conveyed by sneaky, gorgeous, brass-knuckled sentences that snap a bag over your head. I won't tell you what the bag smells like." -Dan Tremaglio, author of The Only Wolf is Time "Bargueño (the lovechild of Bukowski and Hemingway, but, like, if they didn't hate women) collects detritus, what living you've shed and forgotten. Pick me back up, his collection beckons. And, stupidly, you do." -Kym Cunningham, Three Raccoons in a Trenchcoat and author of The Dis/sonance and Difficulty Swallowing "Jason is obviously a sad, sad man." -Couri Johnson, author of Feraltales "The stinking char of Bargueño's savage prose sears my literal nostrils. Eight thumbs up!" -Blah, author of w/Feeling