This is, at first glance, a quite disparate collection of stories. Some are very, very short; others are longer. Some are humorous and conceptual; others are more conventional narratives. The settings range from New York to Texas to San Francisco to Sydney, even Malaysia and Lismore. The characters vary in age from three years old in Rights of Man to nonagenarians in Shady Oaks. And yet this varied assemblage of work is unified by a few core themes: the search for ones place in the world, failed attempts to connect with other people, and lofty aspirations not acted upon.
