Starling Lawrence's evocative and subtle stories are about illuminations that alter the course of ordinary lives, about moments where the known world is dissolved in fierce recognition. In stories such as "Legacy" or "The Chosen People" the defining moment takes place in childhood, and we are left to wonder what burden of memory these events will impose. For the protagonists of "Butterflies" and "The Crown of Light," or for the narrator of "Immortality," a seed that has been sown years earlier comes to flower under very specific circumstances. "Eight fictional reflections on the nature of love and loss, written with such grace and devotion to character that they echo like elegy in the reader's mind. . . . A writer notable for his ability to create fully imagined lives, and to convey these to us in sure and elegant prose. . . . Evocative fictional debut."—Jessica Treadway, Boston Globe "Super . . . bright and illuminating. . . . Each of his stories works like a cunning, cruel trap and readers will soon thank Lawrence for setting them up, even as they realize it is happening again."—Cleveland Plain Dealer "Elegantly built and taunting mazes and mirror-shows. . . . Fascinating."—San Jose Mercury News