American Journalist Novelist Short story writer Guggenheim Fellow Educator Editor Sharp Darkly comic Witty Ironical Complex Morally ambiguous Social satire Psychological Introspective Transparent Bracing Interior voice-driven Jernigan Preston Falls The Wonders of the Invisible World A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me Pulitzer Prize Finalist (Jernigan) National Book Critics Circle Award Wit Dark Comedy Irony Moral Ambiguity Satire Characters Antihero Brutal Honesty Humor Wry Insight Depth Flawed Protagonists Intense Narrative Literary Craft Storyteller Cynical Unflinching Comic Emotional Rude yet likable Intellectual Opinionated Disaffected Sympathetic Self-reproachful Wicked humor Vulnerable Emotionally conflicted Tenacious honesty Human flaws ambiguity complexity depth Disillusionment Relationship dynamics Intellectual/emotional tension Reluctant To explore human contradictions dissect emotions and intellect reveal hidden personal social truths engage readers intellectually emotionally reflect on existential struggles create authentic narratives challenge readers' perceptions