The Bostons

Several volumes of Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and The Best American Short Stories have included work by Carolyn Cooke. This debut collection looks, often with sharp humor and harsh candor, at people caught between the weight of history, social standing, and class.

The title story follows Mr. Sargent, an elderly figure from Boston's old elite who regards himself as a connoisseur of beauty. He records his sudden insights on cocktail napkins and hides them under his drink. In another story, an innkeeper in Maine shoots his wife, and she keeps her grudging allegiance to him until their son dies. Elsewhere, an entire household works together to keep the arrival of another penniless relative from the family matriarch.

Set on the frozen cobblestones of Boston and the granite shoreline of Maine, the characters try to square a learned sense of duty and self-sufficiency with a strong urge to reach the untamed center of living. The stories are carried by a wide range of distinct, convincing voices.