Signs of Devotion: StoriesIn 1986, Maxine Chernoff made an unforgettable fiction debut with BOP, a volume of stories that displayed dazzling control. Her new collection, Signs of Devotion, has been worth the wait. Full of quiet yearnings, the familiar strangers who populate these stories are looking for more. Whether it's a more meaningful vacation or a greater intimacy, they grope for signs and symbols of acceptance, understanding, love. Experiences build temporary understanding into something more lasting - self-knowledge, new fondness, or the heady delight of a moment of truth that changes a life, perhaps imperceptibly, forever. Signs of Devotion is about the small but crucial moments in people's lives. A shared look or joke, a misconstrued comment, a moment when light falls dizzyingly on the silverware - these are the shiny surfaces that the stories illuminate, in the flash of a peripheral glance or an offhand remark. In this glorious collection, Maxine Chernoff proves once again that she's a woman of well-chosen words. Abrupt and wise, she knows better than to fill a reader's head with extraneous music. Every note she sounds is played for a reason. |
Contents
JURY DUTY | 11 |
THE UNTOUCHABLES | 23 |
THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME | 57 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
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