Ԇlesh and BloodԠby Michael Cunningham, Scribner, 1995, 466 pages, $13 (paperback) So, years ago, you loved Michael Cunninghamӳ novel, Ԕhe Hours,Ԡor you saw the movie ֠and then, in a fit of acute consumerism, bought everything else by Cunningham, but (and this is a symptom of acute consumerism) ... more

The heavy monsoon rain kept the big choppers grounded. None of the Huey gun-ships could get up, either. All the forward observer could do was call in artillery strikes. A platoon of infantry was being assaulted by a North Vietnamese Army regiment in the open. The Vietcong would hit and run but the ... more

The young man moved into the downtown YMCA. The days and nights passed. He lounged about gathering strength from long walks beside the river, from the texture of old buildings and the pigeons in the square and from the wind in the leaves of the trees. At night there was the glow of the fires in the ... more

Itӳ Monday. Iӭ in my philosophy lecture, itӳ unseasonably warm for November and Iӭ finding it hard to concentrate on whatӳ being said. So I take out your letter, the one I got last week on the first of the month, and I start to reread it and grammatically correct it, because I know you hate that. ... more

THE TV replayed the planes crashing into the buildings over and over and over and over and over again. Two weeks later, the weather was still balmy. People tried to act normal. This man sat across from his wife and son at a table in a yogurt parlor. The parlor was brightly lit. ԍommy,Ԡthe little ... more

My dress looked purple when the dim light coming through the stained-glass window hit the beads that delicately adorned it. As the drops of water hit the window, so too did drops of darkness replace the sheen of sequins on my dress. I looked into the mirror in front of me, cocked my head to the side, ... more

The rain came down in sheets. With a broken umbrella, Erin tried to shield herself from the storm. She shook her head. This was why she never used umbrellas. They were too fragile. It took several moments to hail a taxi because everyone was trying to get out of the frightful weather. The taxi ... more

Disguise Jason Moore I find I have the ability to disappear. People look at my face, and they see someone else. The truth is nothing but an awkward situation - like hugging someone you've just met. Sometimes there's more than one of me - People often look confused. Others can't ... more

Support Jason Moore He believed she lived to please him - his happiness was her worry. Laundry, cooking dinner, watching the kids were what a woman lived for. She believed he was her knight in shining armor. He had come along to rescue her. Roses, flowers and silk sheets were ... more

THE TV replayed the planes crashing into the buildings over and over and over and over and over again. Two weeks later, the weather was still balmy. People tried to act normal. This man sat across from his wife and son at a table in a yogurt parlor. The parlor was brightly lit. ԍommy,Ԡthe little ... more