Across seven short stories, various men cope with the physical or emotional absence of women in their lives. The narratives feature a stage actor who hires a young woman to drive his Saab 900 while he recovers from his wife’s infidelity and death, a plastic surgeon who starves himself after falling in love with a married patient, and a man who receives a phone call informing him of a former girlfriend’s suicide. These characters navigate quiet urban environments, jazz bars, and lonely apartments, struggling to reconcile their memories of intimacy with the silence of their current isolation.
Readers interested in the psychological mechanics of solitude and masculine vulnerability find value in these sketches. People who enjoy observing the intersection of mundane daily routines and deep-seated regret will find clear descriptions of how loss alters one's perception of reality. The reader walks away with a detailed study of how people internalize rejection and the specific ways that unshared secrets can erode a person’s sense of self over time.
Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2014
- Language
- EN
