I am blown away by Howland's writing. What a tragedy that she was not, is not better known. Glad she is back in print and her words won't be lost forever. ( )

If there is calm to be found here it is the calm inside a pressure cooker before the valve is released, if there is prosperity it is the texture of observation with associated emotions. Do not look for serenity or an easy competence in the exploration of the 3rd quarter of the 20th century Jewish American take of the majority of stories or the title novella where the death of an engaging and ambitious philosopher is relived by his final lover. The most accepted of the bonds are with those who remain opaque to us, but accepted or not the bonds remain. ( )