The word ÔliteraryÕ is defined as Ôconcerning the writing, study, or content of literature, especially of the kind valued for quality of formÕ. ThatÕs important. When dealing with literary fiction, we are looking for something beyond the tropes, templates, recurring images and themes of genre fiction Ñ weÕre looking for connections we wouldnÕt normally expect, dimensions we hadnÕt thought of ourselves, and resonances which strike us as unique and beautiful. This is what this book is full of: from the poetic to the sardonic, from the beautiful to the tragic, we have here a collection that holds up the mirror to human nature and the world in which it finds itself. ItÕs unlikely that you will put this book down unchanged.