Love Stories

"LoveStories"bringstogetheracaptivatingassortmentofshortstoriesinspiredbyromanticentanglementinitsmanyforms:firstlove,infatuation,obsession,unrequitedlove,marriage,adultery,jealousy,andthecomplicatedbondsofthosewhohavespenttheirlivestogether.Anarrayofwritersevokeavarietyofmoods,fromtheraw,eroticpassionofLawrenceandColettetothewickedlycynicalcomedyofDorothyParkerandRoaldDahl;fromtheagonizingmadnessofjealousyinNabokov's"ThatinAleppoOnce..."toromanticillusionsinScottFitzgerald's"WinterDreams".Objectsofpassionrangefromaglamoroussilent-moviestarinElizabethBowen'shaunting"DeadMabelle"toafaithfulghostinKawabata's"Immortality"andasuccessfulheartsurgeonandserialhusbandinMargaretAtwood's"Bluebeard'sEgg".JhumpaLahiriplumbsthedepthsofacouplesunderedbytragedywhileLorrieMooremovinglyportraysahusbandandwifebroughttogetherbyit.KatherineMansfield,TobiasWolffandWilliamTrevorexploretheintricaciesoflong-termrelationships,whileMaupassant,CalvinoandT.C.Boyleconveytheelementalforceofloveinextremelydifferentways.Togetherthesenineteenstoriesmakeanenticinggiftforloversatanystageoflife.ItisperfectforValentine'sDay.