The Things We Don't Do

Born in Argentina but currently a resident of Spain, Neuman is the author of two earlier successful novels: the Alfaguara Prize-winning Traveler of the Century and Talking to Ourselves. This anthology of 36 stories, culled from several collections published contemporaneously with his novel-writing career, is in such a totally different vein thatone might not recognize that they're by the same author. These short stories—indeed, many are very short—offer offbeat scenarios and absurd situations. A few examples: a man gives birth ("Delivery"). A psychiatrist andpatient switch roles ("Juan, José"). A wife buys the same jacket twice as a gift for her husband ("Second-Hand"). A chair waits for someone to sit in it ("A Chair for Somebody"). A man goes to work naked ("Clothes"). The collection concludes with four dodecalogs that serve as a sort of ars poetica of Neuman's short-story craft.