 With the changes in narrative point of view within some of the stories, Brown has said he was influenced by the narration in the films of Terrence Malick – "Days of Heaven" and "The Thin Red Line" in particular.Some of the stories were originally published in magazines including "Harper's", "Epoch", "Open City" and "The Atlantic".The book was given an A- by "Entertainment Weekly", and was a starred review in "Publishers Weekly".