I teach short fiction. For that reason, for better or worse, I'm always reading for the teachable, the lines that will show students the weight of language. Dickinson seems to write line after line of teachable prose, her each sentence a microcosm that, when examined with curious eyes, is a keyhole into the greater tale. As an example, her openings sing out with the vivid imagery and immediately compelling narrative we strive for as writers: "Twirling my white-blonde hair, I was making a cobweb in the refrigerated dark of the Rouge Room" from Rane puzzles the reader in all the right ways, creating an image just open enough to engage and just specific enough to entertain. Or, "I'm barmaiding again tonight, carrying six empty long-neck beer bottles, and my apron pocket overflows with soggy napkins" from "When the Snow Leopard Stalks the River is another of the 11 examples in the book (there are 11 stories). Even the titles themselves hold layers of beauty and meaning (The Village of Butterflies, Watch the Flashlight Girls Run).
A moving and dynamic short story collection is not something that should be easily summarized, and Dickinson's is not. Her characters are alive on the page, and their journeys are as vivid and puzzling as real life. Read this and everything else the author writes. She's an important voice in contemporary literature.