Synopses & Reviews
National Jewish Book Award finalist Jonathan Wilsons uproariously funny stories showcase the neuroses of suburban men as they ruminate, self-medicate, and acclimate to the rhythms of middle age.
From the slacker husband who spends his day running household errands, chatting up the local soccer moms, and drinking most of the wine he was instructed to buy for his wifes womens-group meeting, to the man who calls an old girlfriend while waiting for the verdict from his cardiologist, to the good Jewish son who is torn between the caustic wit of his very Jewish mother and the fertility urges of his very not-Jewish girlfriend, each of these stories is touched by Wilsons affection for male foibles. Taken together, they give us a nuanced picture of men in hot water-with women, their teenage kids, and their own consciences.
Synopsis
On the heels of his highly praised novel A Palestine Affair, Jonathan Wilson returns to his first love----the short story----to give us these sharp, bittersweet, often uproariously funny tales of middle-aged American men in hot water with women, with their sweet and savvy kids, with their own consciences. The slacker husband of the title story spends his day running household errands, chatting up the local soccer moms, and drinking most of the wine he was instructed to buy for his wife's women's-group meeting that evening; another husband calls an old girlfriend while waiting in the cardiologist's office for news about his heart; a good Jewish son is torn between the caustic wit of his powerful, very Jewish mother and the fertility urges of his very not-Jewish girlfriend; a divorced dad nearly loses his teenage boy on a Jamaican adventure.
Each of these cases is touched by Wilson's sympathy and affection for male foibles. Taken together, they give us a nuanced picture of the American husband and father: well-meaning but caught out, horny but physically gone to pot, adrift on dreams and fancies and the desire for a little bit of a break. These are men who, finally, can't quite suppress their feelings about love, family, and the fundamentals----humdrum, rich, and increasingly precious, these days----of middle-class life.
"From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Jonathan Wilson is the author of the novels A Palestine Affair, a 2004 finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and The Hiding Room, and of Schoom, a collection of stories. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Best American Short Stories, and Ploughshares, among other publications, and he has received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He teaches English at Tufts University and lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with his wife and two sons.
Table of Contents
Sons of God
Mini-Joe
Mother with Child
Dead Ringers
An Ambulance Is on the Way
Lothar and Inez
Tosh
True-Love
Fat Twins
Last Light
Fundamentals