"Committed to the experience of youth in a land “dark from the rain,” Drowned Boy proceeds with unyielding candor, slowly revealing the poverty of post-industrial Ohio. By the end of the this book, I was defenseless against Gabriel’s haunting, penetrating prose and prepared to advocate on behalf of his wounded, often desperate characters. In Drowned Boy, devestation abounds, but so too does beauty."

"The winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction, Gabriel can hardly be considered a young writer anymore: his prose manifests patience, while his attention to place—to an Ohio “dark from the rain”—reveals the perceptive gaze of an insider."

"Sublime and stark, the stories in Drowned Boy showcase Jerry Gabriel’s lean diction, crisp characterization, and exquisite storytelling. Readers eager to experience the very best in contemporary short stories need go no farther than this perfect collection."  To read the full review, click here.

"Set in small-town Kentucky and Ohio, Gabriel’s stories are quiet, but rarely dull. The prose is spare, but hardly minimalistic. Carver comes to mind, but Gabriel’s characters, with the exception of a teacher in “Slump,” aren’t so much jaded as on their way there."  To read the full review, click here.

"Escape and youth sports, rifles and beer animate this beautiful, quiet debut." To read the full review, click here.

"Gabriel doesn’t rest on the tragedy of the premise; instead, he gives us two characters confused by death, even in some ways attracted to its mystery. It’s a nuanced and complicated examination of the way grief is contagious, sparking dark emotions in people who initially are barely affected."  To read the full review, click here.

". . . Gabriel nicely crystallizes a sense of place and ably develops the emotional life of the main characters."  To read the full review, click here.

"In her forward to the book, author Andrea Barrett says that Jerry's fictional world calls to mind poet Phlip Levine and short story writer Raymond Carver. Both write about people from this mileu, and Jerry futher resembles Carver in the understated way that he captures the small twists and turns of everyday life. Tragedy and comedy mingle quietly and we must pay close attention lest they pass beneath our notice." To read the full review, click here.

"In prose as spare and enchanting as the town’s landscape, Gabriel paints a beautiful and sobering portrait of Middle Americans trapped in a world of snow, ice, and inevitability."