The Last Fifteen Minutes

These five short works of fiction address a series of common themes and motifs within contemporary American literature: withdrawal and alienation, a loss of the self, and the search for essential meaning in both life and human interaction. "Fish and Other Problems" is the story of a young woman stranded in Arkansas after her car breaks down. The post-modern "To Whom It May Concern" reads as a letter written to a recent ex-lover. A graduate student in the throes of an identity crisis is the focus of "Why I Quit Smoking," while the events just after a rape---as if such an incident could be withstood with the aid of an instructional manual---are documented within "See Spot Run." Lastly, elements of "Fish and Other Problems" are revisited within "For George," an angry portrait of a one-night stand.