Rattle of Want ranges from brilliant brief experiments (such as Abbreviated Glossary and Appendages) to a novella-in-flash (The Old Road) for the canon in that new genre. Altogether these stories mine the wants and desires in the breakups of families, rebellions of youth, and occasional ascents of the spirit. Often they beautifully, and simply, nail a place, as in Small Town (a perfect evocation of the title), report an impending explosion, as in Kindling (a quintessential flash), or capture a character (if you haven't met Blusterfuck ... do so at your own peril). Few writers can do all that Gay Degani does. Robert Shapard, editor of Flash Fiction International: Very Short Stories from Around the World