Theresa left the Marines after twenty-two years to start a new life. Her husband had moved on to a second wife, and her son had recently enlisted. Now Theresa is going to school, getting a degree in hotel management. But it is her art history class she finds most interesting, and a chance encounter with her professor leaves her with new fears for her life, for the future–and for her son.

Maureen is an English teacher, and she’s had a long day. All she wants is a relaxing night out with friends, a few beers, and maybe the chance to forget the troubles of her past: the gambling ex-husband and the daughter who’d thrown her life away sleeping with married men. But her night–and maybe her life–is thrown off track when she leaves the bar and a man approaches her in the parking lot as she unlocks her car.

Sergeant Morse is a risk-taker, playing chicken with the potential exposure of his sexuality. Julianne is looking for her brother, Specialist Hart, not knowing he’s shipped out to Iraq. In a surprising moment of tenderness, Sergeant Morse offers to help her, but whether due to fear of exposure or stubbornness, they might both be beyond rescue.

The story of a book critic and his final thoughts from short-story master Tobias Wolff

Anders is an angry, cynical man. A book critic known for his scathing reviews, he finds any excuse to dismiss, belittle, or insult. This afternoon is no more agitating than the next. Angers finds himself in a long line at the bank, waiting to reach a teller. Even after two men–wearing masks and carrying guns–take control of the building, Anders is unfazed. It’s this behavior that lands him with a pistol against his stomach and a man screaming in his face. And when the bank robber, indignant over Anders’ behavior, shoots the book critic in the head, his mind floats through the memories of his life, settling on one particular event.

A must-have for the fans of the #1 bestselling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris, a collection of his favorite short fiction from Flannery O’Connor to Tobias Wolff.

David Sedaris is an exceptional reader. Alone in his apartment, he reads stories aloud to the point he has them memorized. Sometimes he fantasizes that he wrote them. Sometimes, when they’re his very favorite stories, he’ll fantasize about reading them in front of an audience and taking credit for them. The audience in these fantasies always loves him and gives him the respect he deserves.

David Sedaris didn’t write the stories in Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules . But he did read them. And he liked them enough to hand pick them for this collection of short fiction. Featuring such notable writers as Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, Jean Thompson, and Tobias Wolff, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules includes some of the most influential and talented short story writers, contemporary and classic.

Perfect for fans who suffer from Sedaris fever, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules will tide them over and provide relief.

When Joe Reed was a teenager, he fell so deeply in love with Mary Claude Moore that his parents threatened to send him away. Decades later, he’s living a normal life with his wife and their two children; yet in the thirty years since he’s last seen Mary Claude, he hasn’t stopped thinking of her. With recent news of her in hand, Joe begins to understand the reasons for which he has never stopped loving her–and just how pivotal that time in his life had been.

Mark’s parents have never done a thing for him. When he got out of the army and married Krystal, they were against it, just as they are against his moving to Los Angeles. But Mark has a dream, a dream of being an entertainer, of having a show in Las Vegas. So he packs Krystal and their son, Hans, into their car and starts driving from Arizona to California, determined to show his parents how wrong they are to doubt him. But when the car breaks down at a small gas station in the desert, Mark and Krystal are forced to face realities about their future and their marriage.

A son sits at his mother’s deathbed, hesitant to leave her side. He leafs through one of her old photo albums, remembering her abusive, estranged father. When a visit to a funeral home turns into a conversation with a beautiful, mysterious woman, he develops a deeper–and perhaps darker–understanding of his relationship with his mother.

A mother and her son dream of a life beyond their means in this classic short story by Tobias Wolff.

“Firelight” tells the story of a mother and her son who are spending the afternoon viewing apartments on a chilly day in Seattle, Washington. The two have no intention of renting one–they can only afford to live in a meager boarding house. Nevertheless, they spend every Saturday wandering through apartments and department stores, dreaming of a different life.

On this particular afternoon, their last stop is a beautiful Victorian home–far beyond anything they could ever afford. And for the first time, wishful thoughts blur with harsh reality as the son becomes entranced by the apartment and the life it represents.

In this short story from Our Story Begins, three friends confront their relationships to one another as they work on plans to build their very own airplane.

Clark’s parents are rich, supplying the boys with all they need to follow their pursuits, making films and building catapults. Meanwhile, Freddy’s family is dealing with the loss of his older brother, and Freddy’s friends are having a hard time knowing how to act around him anymore. The boys all have their troubles, but maybe their airplane can help them escape.

John didn’t want a dog. He wasn’t ready, he said. Grace, on the other hand, did want a dog, and when she brought Victor home from the pound, John made sure Grace knew it was her dog, her responsibility. But when Grace dies, John is left with just Victor and his grief, and he learns a new level of devotion.

An unnerving tale of self-absorption and deception by short-story master Tobias Wolff

Three friends are leaving the suburbs of Spokane on a hunting trip. Kenny is the prankster, harsh and mean. Frank is laid-back and full of idealism. Tub is overweight, sensitive, and the brunt of everyone’s jokes. Searching for tracks in the snow, the trio has little luck until they spot a set of deer prints heading into a nearby farm. Kenny, desperate for a token of their difficult journey, insists that they ask the farmer’s permission to hunt on his land. But as they set out in the fading sunlight, things go terribly wrong and what appears to be an accident becomes more and more questionable as strange events call each man’s character into question.

Whether he is evoking the blind carnage of the Tet offensive, the theatrics of his fellow Americans, or the unraveling of his own illusions, Wolff brings to this work the same uncanny eye for detail, pitiless candor and mordant wit that made This Boy’s Life a modern classic.

Tobias Wolff’s masterful short story about one woman’s quiet revenge on the pomposity and arrogance of academia

Meticulous, funny, eccentric–Mary has always been mindful of the complex role she plays as a professor of history. Her lectures are carefully written out beforehand; her departmental loyalties ambiguous. She is so careful, in fact, that she began to see herself as flat, dull, and lifeless.

The closing of Brandon College, the institution she’d spent more than fifteen years at, changes everything. Forced to find another position, Mary finds herself at an experimental college in rainy Oregon. Sickly and unhappy, Mary feels as if she’s dying–until a letter from an old colleague holds promises of a bright future. Louise works for a prestigious school in upstate New York and wants to help her secure a position there. Excited, Mary flies across the country for an interview. But things aren’t as they seem, and Mary, disenchanted with Louise’s vanity and the futility of the university, for once, throws caution to the wind.

Lady, suffocating in the car on a hot summer’s day, slips into a feverish dream. Robert, her husband, watches her slip into unconsciousness as he drives. He’s a soldier, a man of principle, well-educated and well-adjusted. But Robert is also a man with an agenda; he has married this young, wild lower-class girl to spite his father, and now he regrets it. How much does Lady know about Robert’s intentions, and how far will he go to set things straight?

Two drugged-out couples contemplate life and morality in “Leviathan,” a classic short story by the masterful Tobias Wolff.

For Helen’s thirtieth birthday party, her husband decides to throw her a small party. Armed with booze and three grams of cocaine, the four partyers–Helen, her husband, and another couple–spend the night and the next morning in a drug-induced stupor. As their talk turns to past misdeeds and shameful acts, the couples begin to wonder if it’s not the bad decisions in life bring happiness and meaning.

Mr. Givens’ obituary is nothing remarkable, hardly something to remember at all. He led a quiet life, served in the Army, was married to the same woman for forty-two years, and worked at the same job practically his whole life. He wasn’t a baseball player or a movie star, he was the furthest thing from a celebrity. In fact, the only thing noteworthy about his obituary is what happens after it runs in the newspaper, when he shows up in the office of the Metro editor wondering who decided to pronounce him dead.

An introspective story of neighbors, movies, and marriage from short-story master Tobias Wolff

Lying stiffly in their separate beds, a husband and his wife are woken in the middle of the night to the sound of their fighting neighbors. There are three of them–a man, a woman, and a young child. With their blasting stereos, violent interludes, and steamy make-up sessions, the wife has had enough. The husband, however, is preoccupied with other thoughts–sex, movies, and humanity’s capacity to adapt and change. Understated yet poignant, “Next Door” is a reflection on the spectrum of human companionship, from mundane restraint to explosive passion.

Dr. Booth drives his son, Owen, to Fort Steele Academy, where he hopes his son will thrive in a structured, disciplined environment that mirrors Booth’s own upbringing. But after he drops Owen off at his new school, he’s filled with a deep sense of doubt–about his decision to send his son away, about his childhood–and finds himself lost in more ways than one.

The author of the genre-defining memoir This Boy’s Life, the PEN/Faulkner Award–winning novella The Barracks Thief, and short stories acclaimed as modern classics, Tobias Wolff now gives us his first novel.
Determined to fit in at his New England prep school, the narrator has learned to mimic the bearing and manners of his adoptive tribe while concealing as much as possible about himself. His final year, however, unravels everything he’s achieved, and steers his destiny in directions no one could have predicted.
The school’s mystique is rooted in Literature, and for many boys this becomes an obsession, editing the review and competing for the attention of visiting writers whose fame helps to perpetuate the tradition. Robert Frost, soon to appear at JFK’s inauguration, is far less controversial than the next visitor, Ayn Rand. But the final guest is one whose blessing a young writer would do almost anything to gain.

No one writes more astutely than Wolff about the process by which character is formed, and here he illuminates the irresistible power, even the violence, of the self-creative urge. Resonant in ways at once contemporary and timeless, Old School is a masterful achievement by one of the finest writers of our time.

Tobias Wolff’s first two books, In the Garden of the North American Martyrs and Back in the World, proved how the short story can “provoke our amazed appreciation” (New York Times Book Review). In the years since, he’s written a third collection, The Night in Question, as well as several other astounding works. Now he returns with fresh revelations–about biding one’s time, experiencing first love, or burying one’s mother–that come to a variety of characters in circumstances at once everyday and extraordinary: a retired marine enrolled in college while her son trains for Iraq, a lawyer taking a difficult deposition, an American in Rome indulging the Gypsy who’s picked his pocket. In this potent new collection, as with his earlier work, Wolff displays his mastery over a quarter century, once again proving himself “a writer of the highest order: part storyteller, part philosopher, someone deeply engaged in asking hard questions that take a lifetime to resolve” (Los Angeles Times).

With his marriage on the rocks, a father takes his son skiing for the weekend. After insisting on staying just a bit longer–despite a growing blizzard–the boy’s father finds they’re snowed in at the resort, the road blockaded by state troopers. To what lengths will he go to keep his marriage intact?

April’s father, a psychology professor, has had a breakdown and has landed in the Alta Vista State Hospital. Her stepmother, Claire, is just waiting for him to get out so she can leave on a trip to Italy–a trip April is worried Claire won’t come back from. She needs Claire, at least until she finishes high school. She needs her not just as a companion but as a worldly woman who can tell April about men and their desires … men far different from her boyfriend, Stuart.

Ann’s friends envy her. None of their husbands even lift a finger to help with the household chores. Ann’s husband is different, though. Then a simple hypothetical conversation while they wash and dry the dishes causes Ann to see her husband in a different light–and causes him to rethink the way two people can know one another.

Garc+!a, the wealthy, swaggering son of a foreign dictator, invites two lower-class boys from his boarding school to have dinner in New York along with his Spanish-speaking stepmother, Linda. When the group decides to go to a kitschy, unpretentious Swedish smorgasbord rather than a fine restaurant, Garc+!a refuses to leave the limousine, still angry with Linda after an argument over money. Linda proves to be more than the young men had anticipated, and she has more influence over them during their brief encounter than they will ever know.

A powerful tale of life after war by short-story master Tobias Wolff

Hooper, a Vietnam veteran, finds himself at an army base in Washington State. His days are uneventful, filled with mundane duties, empty conversations, and the occasional jaunt with a married woman.

A phone call in the middle of the night breaks Hooper’s predictable routine. One of the guards at the communications center is threatening to kill himself–and says he’ll shoot the other guard if he interferes. Hooper goes to talk to the distressed soldier, a cook nicknamed “Porkchop” who’s disappointed by his life as an army man. As their talk reveals the struggle to readjust to life after combat, the situation turns deadly, and the men must face the consequences of their actions.

In this short story by the masterful Tobias Wolff, a teenage boy learns the joys–and struggles–of adult life.

Eager for independence and adult-like freedom, a teenage boy takes a summer job baling hay on a rural farm. Savoring the farm wife’s attention and the extra change in his pocket, the boy feels like a grown man. The fellow hands give him a sense of camaraderie–Clemson, a fastidious boy who attends the same high school; Eduardo, a talkative Mexican seasonal worker; and Miguel, a quiet man and Eduardo’s brother.

One night, after working the fields from dawn until dusk, Clemson and the boy drop the two brothers off at the decrepit hotel they live at during the summers. Eduardo invites the men in for a drink and they all accept. But the room is filthy and reeking of mildew, and as angry words lead to dangerous actions, the boy must face the reality of his situation.

While on a crowded bus near the Vatican, a man named Mallon–visiting Italy on business–feels someone reaching into his pockets, searching for his wallet. He elbows the pickpocket, seriously injuring the man. Driven by his guilty conscience, Mallon finds himself peering in on the life of an unfamiliar culture and learning more about the world than he ever could have imagined.

When Gold’s daughter is viciously attacked by a neighbor’s dog and barely escapes with her life, Gold’s world is torn open. Haunted by the incident and unable to convince local authorities to take action, he agrees to a friend’s offer of retaliation. When he feels compelled to return the favor, one bad turn leads to another–and this time, Gold finds the repercussions much worse than he ever could have anticipated.

Burke, a San Francisco lawyer, is defending a woman who has been disabled by a botched surgery. His client has a personal connection to Burke, and the trial happens to be taking place in his Ohio hometown, a place ravaged by fallen industries and greedy corporations. While taking a deposition from a particularly difficult witness, Burke calls for a break and takes a walk around the neighborhood where he grew up. A chance encounter with a beautiful woman sets in motion a series of events that Burke could never have foreseen–and is unlikely to forget.

One of Tobias Wolff’s classic tales, “The Liar” is the story of a deceitful teenage boy and his religious, resolute mother.

James is a liar. He enjoys inventing fantastic stories about his family, particularly his mother. Margaret is orderly, stubborn, and judgmental–a woman who throws rocks at hungry bears and never misses four o’clock Mass. She loves her children but has always struggled with James. Like his deceased father, he’s fascinated by the darker aspects of life–car crashes, illness, and crime. Dr. Murphy, the family physician who dabbles in psychiatry, believes that James’ lying is harmless. His mother, however, thinks otherwise.

Written with candor and humor, “The Liar” is a meditation on one of the most pervasive characteristics of human nature.

A story of siblings and faith from short-story master Tobias Wolff

Frances has always been protective of her younger brother Frank. The children of a brutal father and a sick, defenseless mother, Frances fought to keep her brother safe. And throughout all of his adult failings–from drug addiction to near-fatal car crashes–she has stood by his side.

Now Frank has found religion. Standing in his crisp white shirt and restrictive tie, he’s eager to recount last Sunday’s sermon to his older sister. As the sermon unfolds, the father must make a terrible choice–one that cuts deep for Frances. Can she and her brother withstand these new challenges?

Miller is unlucky. That’s why he’s in a foxhole with the rest of Bravo Company. That’s why his dad is gone and his mother remarried. That’s why his teeth are falling out. Then, when the first sergeant tells Miller his mother has passed away, Miller thinks he’s finally gotten lucky. Surely it’s another Miller’s mother, and now he can get away from the battalion for a couple days thanks to the Army’s error. But Miller knows the future rarely has happiness in store.

A classic tale of brotherly love and rivalry from short story master Tobias Wolff

Pete has always been successful. Happily married with two daughters, he lives a comfortable life in Santa Cruz. Pete is a practical, hardworking man and he enjoys life’s monetary pleasures.

His younger brother, Donald, is a gaunt, troubled man. Unmarried and without children, Donald earns what little money he has by occasionally painting houses. He’s a religious man, unlike Pete, and has spent several years as a member of various Christian groups.

When Pete receives a call from Donald, telling him that that his most recent religious commune has failed, Pete decides to pick him up– a trip that will test the limits of the brothers’ relationship.

First published in 1989, this memoir has become a classic in the genre. With this book, Wolff essentially launched the memoir craze that has been going strong ever since. It was made into a movie in 1993.Fiction writer Tobias Wolff electrified critics with his scarifying 1989 memoir, which many deemed as notable for its artful structure and finely wrought prose as for the events it describes. The story is pretty grim: Teenaged Wolff moves with his divorced mother from Florida to Utah to Washington State to escape her violent boyfriend. When she remarries, Wolff finds himself in a bitter battle of wills with his abusive stepfather, a contest in which the two prove to be more evenly matched than might have been supposed. Deception, disguise, and illusion are the weapons the young man learns to employ as he grows up-not bad training for a writer-to-be. Somber though this tale of family strife is, it is also darkly funny and so artistically satisfying that listeners come away exhilarated.

Gilbert saw Mary Ann first, but the second time he sees her she is dancing with his best friend, Rafe. The three of them begin hanging out all the time, driving around in the car Rafe got as a present for getting into Yale. But when Rafe goes out of town, Gilbert and Mary Ann keep the tradition going, seeing movies and going on drives … in Rafe’s car no less. Gilbert thinks he and Mary Ann are perfect together, even the way they fit next to one another when they dance, but falling in love with your best friend’s girlfriend is a sure way to break someone’s heart.