OurStoryBeginsNewandSelectedStories

“Oneofourmostexquisitestorytellers”(Esquire)givesushisfirstcollectioninoveradecade：tenpotentnewstoriesthat，alongwithtwenty-oneclassics，displayhismasteryoveraquartercentury.TobiasWolff’sfirsttwobooks，IntheGardenoftheNorthAmericanMartyrsandBackintheWorld，wereapowerfuldemonstrationofhowtheshortstorycan“provokeouramazedappreciation，”asTheNewYorkTimesBookReviewwrotethen.Intheyearssince，he’swrittenathirdcollection，TheNightinQuestion，aswellasapairofgenre-definingmemoirs(ThisBoy’sLifeandInPharaoh’sArmy)，thenovellaTheBarracksThief，and，mostrecently，anovel，OldSchool.Nowhereturnswithfreshrevelations—aboutbidingone’stime，orexperiencingfirstlove，orburyingone’smother—thatcometoavarietyofcharactersincircumstancesatonceeverydayandextraordinary：aretiredMarineenrolledincollegewhilehersontrainsforIraq，alawyertakingadifficultdeposition，anAmericaninRomeindulgingtheGypsywho’spickedhispocket.Inthesestories，aswithhisearlier，much-anthologizedwork，heonceagainproveshimself，accordingtotheLosAngelesTimes，“awriterofthehighestorder：partstoryteller，partphilosopher，someonedeeplyengagedinaskinghardquestionsthattakealifetimetoresolve.”