Fourteen funny, perceptive tales about the disconcerting and wildly absurd condition of urban adulthood

With compassion and often biting wit, Laurie Colwin has created a new sort of comedy of manners. The engaging  characters in her stories are buffeted by teh pressures of their jobs, imposed upon by their families and their  surroundings, and remain ever hopeful of making sense of their lives. In Passion and Affect you’ll meet:

Raiford Phelps, an ornitholigist who discovers new patterns of animals behavior when he meets Mary Leibnitz

Benno Moran, a temporary bachelor, free to indulge in TV, junk food, and Greenie Frenzel when his wholesome wife is out of town

Vincent Cadworthy and Guido Morris, whose elegant friendship is suddenly disrupted by Misty Berkowitz

Elizabeth Bayard, whose passion for order and civility does constant battle with her unruly loves

These are just a few of the innocents and menaces whose lives collide with both exhilarating and surprising results in the pages of this wonderfully imaginative collection.

Reviews

“Colwin is ingenious, comedic, and spirited.” – Maxine Kumin, Boston Globe

“Miss Colwin gives the impression she has single-handedly revitalized the short story. . . . The economy, the brightness, the wit are all there; she entertains.”  - Los Angeles Times

“Laurie Colwin writes with unobtrusive skill, insight, and touching moral passion.” – New Republic