Proulx's characters are remarkable for their familiarity—they seem like real people. Each character, it seems, is a tool for Proulx to meditate on human nature; each faces a particular struggle dealt with, one imagines, as anyone might.

Many of the struggles faced by Proulx's characters involve family relations. Mr. and Mrs. Tinsley face a peculiar struggle in "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water."

Their son, Ras, is horribly disfigured in a car accident. In spite of his helplessness and the contempt he showed for them before his accident, his mother and father take him in and offer unconditional love. Even when Ras begins to expose himself to local girls, his parents defend him against an infuriated society. The Tinsleys thus become Proulx's vehicle for demonstrating the power of parental bonds.

Proulx has numerous foils for the Tinsleys, however. Just as they demonstrate the...