Jean, “Coming Attractions”
The very first word in this collection is Jean. And why not? She is, arguably perhaps, the most fascinating character in the entire collection. Jean is the fifteen-year-old daughter of divorce who lives with her mother and younger brother with an entire country separating them from Jean’s father. She is a petty thief, a very weird prankster, and contemptuous of men who should know better and their bad romantic choices. By all accounts, she should be labeled a bad girl headed toward worse. But her act of selflessness that climaxes her story calls that future into question.
Charlie, “Our Story Begins”
It is entirely possibly to see Jean as an incarnation borne by autobiography, if doubtful. Charlie, on the hand, screams autobiographical creation. He works as a busboy but dreams of being a writer - dreams that are continually interrupted by waking up to the harshness of reality. On the verge of giving up that dream forever, Charlie just happens to overhear a story being told among a threesome in a bar and leaves with a new perspective.
Ann’s Husband, “Say Yes”
Ann’s husband learns too late that when your wife asks you a rhetorical question demanding a yes or no answer about an impossible scenario in which the veracity of your answer simply cannot ever be determined and you know that she knows that you know she thinks you are not just supposed to, but expected to say yes, that the worst choice imaginable is to say “no.”
Russell and Dave, “The Poor are Always with Us”
Russell owns a Porsche and when he walks into the garage to pick it up after repairs, he immediately rubs Dave the wrong way despite doing nothing that could be considered an insult or offensive. This sets off a series of bizarre incidents that pit the privileged man against the man who had been dealt such a bad hand that there was never any way possible he would ever win.
Marty, “Sister”
Marty is a young woman who puts replaces her glasses with contact lenses when she gets dressed up to work out at the park across the way. As she nears the park, she recognizes a man who dumped her in a bar named Jack. One expects this to be a story about Marty either getting a measure of revenge or being further humiliated by Jack. She is humiliated, but not by Jack. The humiliation comes with a cherry on top: she is also almost killed by a car that has briefly gone out of control.
