Fun With Problems

In Fun with Problems, Robert Stone demonstrates once again that he is one of our greatest living writers (Los Angeles Times). The pieces in this new volume vary greatly in lengthsome are almost novellas, others no more than a pagebut all sharethe signature blend of longing, violence, black humor, sex and drugs thathas helped Stone illuminate the dark corners of the human soul. Entire lives are laid out with remarkable precision, in captivating prose: a screenwriter carries on a decades-long affair with a beautiful actress, whose descent into addiction he can neither turn from nor share; a bored husband picks up a mysterious woman only to find that his ego has led him woefully astray; a world-beating Silicon Valley executive receives an unwelcome guest at his mansion in the hills; a scuba dive guides uneasy newlyweds to a point of no return. Fun with Problems showcases Stones great gift: to pinpoint and make real the impulsesby turns violently coercive and quietly seductivethat cause us to conceal, reveal, and betray our very selves.