Stories

Getting Over Tom by Abigail Thomas ’59. If you have read anything I have written about Abigail Thomas, you know that I am a fan.  I want to read everything she has written.  This book of short stories, the first volume she published, probes the subtleties and complexities of being part of families t

War Stories by Lew LeBlanc, edited by Susan (Elvers) LeBlanc ’82. This is one of those “lift the curtain” books, where we get to view from the inside a workplace we normally know only from the outside. Lew, a seasoned firefighter, lets us in on what goes on in a series of anecdotes. At first I tho

Alphabet of Love Serial by Lou Rowan and Alphabetique by Molly Peacock are collections of stories based on the alphabet . But their takes on the adult ABC book are widely divergent. Lou’s J, for instance, spent his years from 20-36 in a druggy daze, whereupon he became a runner and attempted to

Listening is an Act of Love, A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project by Dave Isay. StoryCorps is among the most significant and far-reaching accomplishments of any Friends Seminary Alum. In addition to the many uplifting, heart wrenching and captivating stories in this volume, t

Callings The Purpose and Passion of Work By Dave Isay (80’s?). Some of the work Dave has done operating StoryCorps has made its way into books. This one, inspired by Studs Terkel, concerns work. Stories of how people view their work turns out to be both riveting and uplifting! The personalities

Alphabetique. 26 Characteristic Fictions, by Molly Peacock ff. These 26 stories are crammed with playful whimsey like “A is the genuine article” or R’s play on words with regret and egret. Q has a fairy tale feel as he evolves from foundling to favorite of the Queen. O’s father is Daddy-O. I’m

Herb’s Pajamas, Stories by Abigail Thomas ’59. New Yorkers are trained not to wonder what is behind the mask as they pass anonymously by fellow New Yorkers. Herb’s Pajamas tells of the poignancy, humor, and emotion that goes unnoticed in four denizens of a neighborhood way up on the west side of

Alphabet of Love Serial by Lou Rowan ff. Most letters in this collection of short fiction have their own story. A and B, however, appear together as human algebraic unknowns and X and Y are Cartesian coordinates in a graph of failure and accomplishment. In between we encounter the other letters-c