The stories in Grit and Roses trace the unsteady arc of a life spent pursuing a dream. A musician's career, filled with the hard, grueling work of perfecting a craft, the mishaps and disappointments of touring, and the between-gig times of mundane jobs and restless wandering. They also transcend the basic framework of a journeyman musician and explore more universal issues: desire, aimlessness, regret, hope, determination-the search for meaning in a stranger's smile and a cool drink, a backcountry sunset, or the neon beacon in the distant dark. Eugene Babb's proses have a cadence, a tempo, that suits the telling of a musician's experiences. Grit and Roses marks the debut of promising new voice in contemporary fiction.