In ten stories Beattie looks at baby boomers and the random encounters that change lives. I bought this book at the Book Depot and got it cheap because it was missing a dust jacket. Since the first story is more of a novella and not having read the dust jacket (which would have set me straight) I thought I was reading a novel and was completely thrown off balance by the second story which was, of course, a non sequiter. Once I figured out that I was reading a book of short stories and not a novel I settled in and enjoyed them. There are a few writers who make me jump for joy when I find their latest at The Depot: Ann Tyler, Joan Didion, Richard Ford, John Updike and Ann Beattie. Beattie speaks to people like me, she understands my dilemmas and addresses them with wit. Flechette Follies, the novella, seemed un-Beattie-ish and was my least favourite in the collection but I laughed out loud a few times while reading the other stories in the collection and felt compelled to share key phrases with my better half. Some wickedly good reading here, especially the last story, That Last Odd Day in L.A. where a curmudgeon finds redemption when he meets a deer.
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