The eleven stories in Nothing Like An Ocean confirm the promise of Jim Tomlinson’s award-winning debut, Things Kept, Things Left Behind. Set in and around the fictional town of Spivey, Kentucky, the stories spotlight small-town lives that are thrown into quiet turmoil by unexpected events or outsiders: a man’s broken-down car prompts a bittersweet hometown reunion; a husband is surprised to find that the idyllic spot where he courted his wife has been obliterated by mountaintop removal; a waitress watches in fascination as a regular customer blossoms as muse to an artist from Belarus.Adept at juxtaposing light and dark elements, Tomlinson displays compassion for characters searching for moments of found grace and earned redemption. The title story, about a divorced man who receives an anonymous invitation to a church social for middle-aged singles, carries tragic undertones as the protagonist is continually reminded of his son’s accidental death and the subsequent dissolution of his marriage. With a strong sense of place and clear, poetic language, Tomlinson breathes new life into timeless stories, creating for the reader a world that is foreign and yet deeply familiar.