I recently referred to this book when reviewing Kergan Edwards-Stout's Gifts Not Yet Given. The two books are similar in that they are collections of short stories which deal with individuals who are cut off, one way or another, from their families and/or friends. Both are books I can see reading and re-reading again and again. Edwards-Stout's book got me to pick up Mars-Jones' volume and re-read it, cover to cover. All the stories in Monopolies of Loss center on AIDS and its impact to the gay community back in the 1980s. They are deeply personal, and speak to me on a level that makes it impossible for me to be impersonal in any approach to this book. One of the stories, Bears in Mourning, is a story that I have recommended time and time again when the inevitable discussion comes up concerning just what a Bear is. Curiously, it is the only story in the book where the death is not AIDS related. Monopolies of Loss may seem a bit dated today, but for those of us who lived through the outbreak of the epidemic and lost so many friends to it, these stories will bring familiar faces to mind. I heartily recommend Monopolies of Loss.