In Disguise: Stories

Abstract

In Disguise is a collection of short stories about people who have been living under strain for a long time. Their stories begin at the unexpected moment when the strain becomes too much: for one character, the leaving of a beloved coworker renews her sorrow over her mother’s death (“Method”); for another, the loss of his job compounds years of growing disillusionment (“The Beat of the World”); for one more, a long estrangement from her brother governs the guilt and confusion she encounters in the wake of his death (“In Disguise”). In these stories, griefs dress up as other griefs. Feelings outrun their root causes and attach themselves to people and situations unrelated at first glance. As the characters wade through this constant transposition and displacement of emotion, they struggle to communicate clearly with one another, or even with themselves.