Wrong, Dennis Cooper?s first collection of stories showcases the themes which are central to his writing - death, abusive relationships and the difficulty of finding language to convey extreme emotions. Throughout his work, Cooper has used death as a vantage point from which to view life. As the narrator of the title story says, ?Once you?ve killed someone, life?s shit. It?s a few rules and you?ve already broken the best.? Cooper writes about a world he knows well and his writing has the unforced strength of conviction.