Fun With Problems

In Robert Stone demonstrates once again that he is "one of our greatest living writers" (). The pieces in this new volume vary greatly in length — some are almost novellas, others no more than a page — but all share the signature blend of longing, violence, black humor, sex and drugs that has helped Stone illuminate the dark corners of the human soul. Entire lives are laid out with remarkable precision, in captivating prose: a screenwriter carries on a decades-long affair with a beautiful actress, whose descent into addiction he can neither turn from nor share; a bored husband picks up a mysterious woman only to find that his ego has led him woefully astray; a world-beating Silicon Valley executive receives an unwelcome guest at his mansion in the hills; a scuba dive guides uneasy newlyweds to a point of no return. showcases Stone's great gift: to pinpoint and make real the impulses-by turns violently coercive and quietly seductive-that cause us to conceal, reveal, and betray our very selves.