opportunities to do good and those that are seized.” The stories in Ladies and Gentlemen demonstrate human struggles with everyday morality, knitted together with many threads. One of the strongest, and perhaps the most compelling of them—the idea of commitment. “In the Basement” and “When in Rome” deal with characters who are unable to commit to a life of righteous triumph. Instead, they cling to pictureperfect marriages, criminal or fatal daredevilry, and extramarital sex as a means of avoiding their harsh realities. "The title [Ladies and Gentleman] comes from the concept of humans on their best behavior,” Adam explains, “and if it has one theme, it’s that being good to other people is the only thing in life we can control.” But Adam doesn’t want to proscribe his readers a solution to the human problems he portrays. He wants to “set them dreaming” (à la Flaubert), to create a storm of questions that mirrors his own uncertainties about his art. “Art doesn’t provide answers,” he says, “it provides questions.” So, what’s the value in the desire for progress? Is fear of the inevitable a tool for destruction or education? These are the kinds of questions that he’s not sure even have answers. Twisted as his means are of propounding “the good,” Adam fights tooth and nail for his reputation as such a proponent. So it’s ironic that he also questions the timeliness of his art. If there’s ever been a time for Godless folk to find some reason to act well, it’s now. If there’s ever been a person who can secularly inspire, it’s Adam Ross, swallowing the lump of his flawed past selves and taping “SEAL Team Six” for his wife to watch later. If he’s not the socially-responsible one, then it must be his muse who is.
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