Skokie Ditch and other stories. (Original short stories)

The six stories in this collection illuminate some of the small moments in the lives of their characters, and the necessity of those moments. Both "The Floating Woman" and "August Fires" examine the longing that takes place on a small resort lake in the heat of August. In the remaining stories, "Skokie Ditch," "The Crying Room," "Claire" and "Hurricane Belle," the young female protagonists experience or observe changes in relationships that they thought they understood at one time. The themes of longing and change in the stories represent a sense of loss to the characters. The spareness and simplicity of these stories are intended to suggest the virtue and brevity of living.