I read all these stories. Some with more enjoyment than others and that last one I skimmed parts of. I don't know if any of them are any good. I might include a spoiler. None of them caused me to write down the author's name so I could find more by him or her. Maybe the Alarcon story was the best -- it was the first. Some of the stories are very contemporary &, everything else being equal, that makes them more interesting. A more conscientious person would list the stories & provide a response to each. Yurt was OK but I didn't get into the characters. Rubiaux Rising was good and interesting. Oh yeah, I liked Beyond the Pale, it reminded me of Singer (even as the author in the story hated Singer.) A Shadow Table had some good parts but it was whiny. NowTrends was interesting & worth reading. The Farms is about AIDS, that was sad. Sagittarius was silly. Hurricanes Anonymous has some interesting ideas, like the guy & his son living in the UPS truck, but I didn't find enough to like in the characters. The Anniversary Trip was ordinary. A Man Like Him was OK, it had some stuff to make you think. The Briefcase was OK but it was so bleak. Magic Words was OK, I liked that people connected with other people. One Dog Year didn't appeal to me, John D was boring. Modulation was cool. Them Old Country Songs was professional written, of course, but grim and I just have that feeling that Annie Proulx kind of relishes the grimness. Into the Gorge was sad. Ostracon -- well I forgot it -- and I don't want to think about Alzheimers anyway. The Peripatetic coffin was OK. I hated Muzungu, I really really hated it.