These stories represent a wide and diverse range of visions, sensibilities, techniques, and themes, providing a vivid glimpse of our world through the eyes of young artists as we approach the twenty-first century. From quiet vignettes of triumph over daily despair, to richly textured narratives of almost epic proportion, the authors explore themes at once contemporary and timeless: the often tangled relationship between parent and child; the lingering legacy of the war in Vietnam; the mysteries of birth, death, sexuality, and marriage; and the sometimes redemptive power of suffering. Visceral, engaging, eminently readable, and memorable, these stories provide an inspiring preview of literary achievement to come.
Selected from an extensive nationwide search, this book of fifteen stories by American writers twenty-five years old and younger introduces a new generation of literary talent.
