Women and Children First

Francine Prose's first collection of stories displays her gift for revealing the mysteries and contradictions at the heart of contemporary life. A young woman, disappointed by her lover, discovers that "what you'd hoped was the start of your life could turn out to be a scene from someone else's porn movie." A college professor is disturbed by his attraction to the physical therapist caring for his dying father. A Manhattan gallery owner baby-sitting her infant nephew watches herself pretending to be her suburban housewife sister. With wit and compassion, Prose's collection reminds us that nothing is as we've foreseen ... not even our own desires.