Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5350308 in Books
• Published on: 1984-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 132 pages

Customer Reviews

I Loved These Short Stories!!!
This is a great collection of short stories, some of them brilliant. It saddens me that no one else has reviewed this book. I hope that someone sees my review and purchases this book. The stories that I liked best follow.

1) Old 3 a.m. Story - - Jenny visits Pete after a long time and sees that he is single parenting. She has attempted suicide and was hospitalized. Pete remembers all of her soul-searching and attempts to center herself through him.

2) Bodies Like Mouths - - A small-town college student in a rooming house near Columbia University desires the pulsating excitement of New York City. The backdrop of his longing is the seediness of the rooming house and the life tragedies of all who live there.

3) Cambridge is Sinking - - This story is about the changes in Cambridge from the days of the 1960's until the 1970's - from being 'beat' to being 'hip'.

4) Part-time Father - - Herb is a part-time father to Aaron who is being brought up in a household with his ex and her husband. They are imparting a set of upper middle class values and lifestyle to Aaron that Herb doesn't approve of.

5) Pre-War Quality - This is one of my favorite stories in the collection. Watching Aunt Miriam die, Steve is mesmerized by the juxtaposition of youth and age and how the past and future get caught up in one another.

6) Fantasy for a Friday Afternoon - - Another of my favorites. David yearns for another life but feels compelled to fulfill his obligations as a teacher and a husband. Through his unique experiences we see a universal strife between what is, what could have been, and what will be.

7) Bodies of the Rich - - Yet another favorite of mine. A 13 year-old boy watches his first girlfriend's mother with a sexual awareness. He learns of an affair she is having and the boy and his mom are drawn into their lives. This story is quite complex and beautiful.

I highly recommend this book of short stories.