Almonds to Zhoof Collected Stories
Stern's stories-witty, moving, charged with narrative energy-never sacrifice storytelling to mere elegance or bursts of essayistic wisdom. This collection demonstrates Stern's remarkable ability to portray people's flawed relationships to ideas, their sometimes bizarre relationships with lovers and friends, their often brilliant, if skewed, appraisals of themselves. The stories reflect Stern's compassion for his characters, whoever they are and whatever their origins. Book jacket.