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.