Short stories published in 1996

Listing 22 stories.

An American recent divorcee travels to Germany using his inheritance money and falls in love with a prostitute who owns a monkey.

A young man contracts an intestinal disease as he travels to a tropical island and chooses to fast for his physical and spiritual health. As he develops an intimacy with the island, he becomes convinced that this fast will cure his illness — despite what other Western travelers believe.

A bike repairman who takes medication to turn off his libido receives a strange package that leads to an undercover federal agent breaking into his shop and a conspiracy about an artificial intelligence and a senator coming to light.

On a trip through Europe, an old man grapples with his terminal illness and finds himself increasingly disappointed by his current lover and missing his old flame.

Consumed by the memory of his larger-than-life roommate who recently passed away from AIDS, a grieving man working at an art gallery reflects on life.

An elderly couple's battle for control over the decoration and organization of their house drives them apart.

When their daughter with an intellectual disability finds love, two parents must come to terms with their daughter's interest in sex.

As an old woman revisits her family's quintessentially American history, she finds a way to respect and love her parents, despite the scandals and tragedies they endured.

Fresh out of rehab, a recovering addict goes to live with his brother in Detroit who he hasn't seen in six years. He begins working at his brother's obstetrical clinic, where he encounters pro-life protesters that will stop at nothing to get what they want.

After his grandson gets fired from yet another job, an old man watches the boy resort to a deceitful scheme in order to make money, causing tension to run rampant through the household.