Squinting at the Moon

by Zackry Colston

In this, his first short story collection, Zackry Colston holds a hysterical magnifying glass to the moments of messy impact between outcasted--and often glossed over--people jockeying for dignity, peace, and connection. A child drives a totaled truck and imagines himself as Neil Armstrong. The owner of a run-down porno theater and his patron obsession. A hypothetical grocery list if one were to have a million dollars. A recovering fungus-turned-rock-musician wrestles with his checkered past in an interview. A nude art model's first time. And many more...

These stories, while ranging from heartbreaking to life-affirming, never stray from the ever-present axis of humor. Children fight, lovers reunite, employees snap, neighbors awkwardly greet--until suddenly, the absurdity of reality bursts through--and the only thing left to do is laugh.

284 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2025

Reviews

[Peter Martineau · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the subway, in a restaurant, on my couch, by the beach, in bed, and a couple times in the bathroom: I couldn't put Zackry Colston's debut book of short stories away. Page to page and story to story, Colston keeps the reader engaged with fun, character driven stories that evoke a range of emotional states. Each story drips with his views on the world and what makes it interesting. I would put this in my favorite short stories shelf along with Raphael Bob-Waksberg's Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory and Simon Rich's Spoiled Brats. If you can get your hands on this book, and your eyes on its pages, you should; as soon as possible, you should.

[Chandler Corley-Essex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colston has you falling in love with characters in two pages and crying over them in six; it's the best kind of emotional whiplash, especially when reliably buttoned with a chuckle. Smart, silly, and grounding.

[Ur Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought it was AI slop tbh.