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Among the characters you’ll find in this collection of twelve stories by Tobias Wolff are a teenage boy who tells morbid lies about his home life; a timid professor who, in the first genuine outburst of her life, pours out her opinions in spite of a protesting
A powerful tale of life after war by short-story master Tobias Wolff
Hooper, a Vietnam veteran, finds himself at an army base in Washington State. His days are uneventful, filled with mundane duties, empty conversations, and the occasional jaunt with a married woman.
A phone call in the middle of the night breaks Hooper's predictable routine. One of the guards at the communications center is threatening to kill himself—and says he'll
...An unnerving tale of self-absorption and deception by short-story master Tobias Wolff
Three friends are leaving the suburbs of Spokane on a hunting trip. Kenny is the prankster, harsh and mean. Frank is laid-back and full of idealism. Tub is overweight, sensitive, and the brunt of everyone's jokes. Searching for tracks in the snow, the trio has little luck until they spot a set of deer prints heading into a nearby farm. Kenny, desperate for
...4) Mortals
Mr. Givens' obituary is nothing remarkable, hardly something to remember at all. He led a quiet life, served in the Army, was married to the same woman for forty-two years, and worked at the same job practically his whole life. He wasn't a baseball player or a movie star, he was the furthest thing from a celebrity. In fact, the only thing noteworthy about his obituary is what happens after it runs in the newspaper, when he shows up in the office
...Miller is unlucky. That's why he's in a foxhole with the rest of Bravo Company. That's why his dad is gone and his mother remarried. That's why his teeth are falling out. Then, when the first sergeant tells Miller his mother has passed away, Miller thinks he's finally gotten lucky. Surely it's another Miller's mother, and now he can get away from the battalion for a couple days thanks to the Army's error. But Miller knows the future rarely has
...While on a crowded bus near the Vatican, a man named Mallon—visiting Italy on business—feels someone reaching into his pockets, searching for his wallet. He elbows the pickpocket, seriously injuring the man. Driven by his guilty conscience, Mallon finds himself peering in on the life of an unfamiliar culture and learning more about the world than he ever could have imagined.
7) Her Dog
John didn't want a dog. He wasn't ready, he said. Grace, on the other hand, did want a dog, and when she brought Victor home from the pound, John made sure Grace knew it was her dog, her responsibility. But when Grace dies, John is left with just Victor and his grief, and he learns a new level of devotion.
Theresa left the Marines after twenty-two years to start a new life. Her husband had moved on to a second wife, and her son had recently enlisted. Now Theresa is going to school, getting a degree in hotel management. But it is her art history class she finds most interesting, and a chance encounter with her professor leaves her with new fears for her life, for the future—and for her son.
9) Deep Kiss
When Joe Reed was a teenager, he fell so deeply in love with Mary Claude Moore that his parents threatened to send him away. Decades later, he's living a normal life with his wife and their two children; yet in the thirty years since he's last seen Mary Claude, he hasn't stopped thinking of her. With recent news of her in hand, Joe begins to understand the reasons for which he has never stopped loving her—and just how pivotal that time in his
...10) The Deposition
Burke, a San Francisco lawyer, is defending a woman who has been disabled by a botched surgery. His client has a personal connection to Burke, and the trial happens to be taking place in his Ohio hometown, a place ravaged by fallen industries and greedy corporations. While taking a deposition from a particularly difficult witness, Burke calls for a break and takes a walk around the neighborhood where he grew up. A chance encounter with a beautiful
...11) The Liar
One of Tobias Wolff's classic tales, "The Liar" is the story of a deceitful teenage boy and his religious, resolute mother.
James is a liar. He enjoys inventing fantastic stories about his family, particularly his mother. Margaret is orderly, stubborn, and judgmental—a woman who throws rocks at hungry bears and never misses four o'clock Mass. She loves her children but has always struggled with James. Like his deceased father, he's fascinated
...12) Leviathan
Two drugged-out couples contemplate life and morality in "Leviathan," a classic short story by the masterful Tobias Wolff.
For Helen's thirtieth birthday party, her husband decides to throw her a small party. Armed with booze and three grams of cocaine, the four partyers—Helen, her husband, and another couple—spend the night and the next morning in a drug-induced stupor. As their talk turns to past misdeeds and shameful acts, the couples
...13) Flyboys
In this short story from Our Story Begins, three friends confront their relationships to one another as they work on plans to build their very own airplane.
Clark's parents are rich, supplying the boys with all they need to follow their pursuits, making films and building catapults. Meanwhile, Freddy's family is dealing with the loss of his older brother, and Freddy's friends are having a hard time knowing how to act around him anymore.
...14) Lady’s Dream
Lady, suffocating in the car on a hot summer's day, slips into a feverish dream. Robert, her husband, watches her slip into unconsciousness as he drives. He's a soldier, a man of principle, well-educated and well-adjusted. But Robert is also a man with an agenda; he has married this young, wild lower-class girl to spite his father, and now he regrets it. How much does Lady know about Robert's intentions, and how far will he go to set things straight?
...15) Powder
With his marriage on the rocks, a father takes his son skiing for the weekend. After insisting on staying just a bit longer—despite a growing blizzard—the boy's father finds they're snowed in at the resort, the road blockaded by state troopers. To what lengths will he go to keep his marriage intact?
16) Smorgasbord
García, the wealthy, swaggering son of a foreign dictator, invites two lower-class boys from his boarding school to have dinner in New York along with his Spanish-speaking stepmother, Linda. When the group decides to go to a kitschy, unpretentious Swedish smorgasbord rather than a fine restaurant, García refuses to leave the limousine, still angry with Linda after an argument over money. Linda proves to be more than the young men had anticipated,
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