All the Time in the World

In his preface to this collection of 12 stories, some new and some familiar, Doctorow explains that while a novel begins with an image, a story begins with a situation. The situations here are diverse, with settings both urban and suburban, contemporary and historical, but the organizing principle is neither time nor space. Because each story has its "own particular light," explains Doctorow, he has "banded the stories in packets of similar mental light." Thus, the opening story, "Wakefield," about a man who spends several months hiding out on his own property for no apparent reason, is followed by another tale of suburban uneasiness, "Edgemont Drive." In "Assimilation," a busboy gets hooked into marrying the boss's late uncle's daughter from the home country, while "Liner Notes: The Songs of Billy Bathgate" shows the struggle to assimilate in an earlier era. Coming next, "Heist" and "Walter John Harmon" deal with issues of corrupted faith. As one would expect, each situation is captured perfectly in smooth and literate language, and Doctorow gets off some wonderful zingers: "The paperback's world is…dependable in its punishments," muses a defeated priest. "More than I can say for Yours."