Dressing Up for the Carnival follows the lives of different people in a town who are unconnected and unrelated. The author studies these random characters in their natural habitat revealing the hope and fantasy of being someone else that every individual possesses. According to Shields, humans carry two gowns in their time on earth; one that showcases who they are and the other revealing who they dream or desire to be. These facades are natural and are crucial to our existence since they act as a consolation in our time of despair.
Dressing Down examines the life of a teenage boy who spends the summer holiday at a nudist camp founded by his late grandfather. During his stay, he realized how important frankness and candor play part in human interaction. The boy also learns of how nudity makes people prosaic since it removes the sense of mystery dissolving the element of surprise.
Eros is also a tale of discovery. The narrative follows a young woman who survives breast cancer. The near-death experience makes her question her life decisions as she examines her past; particularly her sex life. She recalls her first suspicion of the existence of sex in the lives of her parents who divorced while she was young. The middle-aged woman concludes that sex, however mundane, plays a crucial role in our existence. Despite providing no ultimate liberation, sex offers a moment of bliss. She also admits that lack of sex played a vital role in her divorce and that of her parents.
All the narratives follow a similar storyline - one that showcases self-discovery and the desire to remake life and create new experiences completely different from the past.
