Description: Often tragic but lacking despair, these nine stories by David Ebershoff, delve into the vicissitudes of everyday life, and conjure up those moments when our identities and purpose were enigmatic, yet frightfully delicious to embrace. Written with the understanding and familiarity of he who knows this well, David Ebershoff presents us with characters who are coming into their own as they discover and re-discover themselves. Sexuality aligns these stories and forms a bouquet of vivid characters. In "The Dress", a boy's affinity for dressing up in diaphanous gowns begins as a whimsical adventure until he is trapped in his favorite play thing, because he has bound himself too tightly, and must be cut free by his father, his nakedness making him vulnerable and ashamed. The dress becomes a metaphor for the boy's proclivity: that which is most natural. However, it becomes constricting, and to overcome this pain he must confront his father. The realization between father and son, occuring like a sacrificial rite, reveals a truth neither are willing to hold dear.

Ebershoff's treatment of rememberance and lost love in "The Rose City" brings together ex-lovers who reunite to reflect upon their past, their present, and what lies ahead. Relationship's suck. Especially when your ex has moved on to a beautiful home and partner, and you're left cruising over the salad bar in a second-rate restaurant as an indifferent waiter ignores you but hoards your tips, wanting to be acknowledged, even desired, hoping Mr. Right will walk through the doors and share your table, buy you a drink, and while he's at it, confess eternal devotion to you. But this does not happen. Only in the movies.

Like The DanishGirl, these stories will find a place among many readers. Ebershoff offers us a variety of personalities with which we can identify on all levels. His characters are unforgetable and will undoubtedly remain with us for a long time.

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