Stories: Table of Contents
The Italian Who Was at a Loss for Words is set in Palermo, and explores the obsessions of a geologist, a student, and a visiting professor
❧ 1. Pietro Parlante: Pietro, a brilliant geologist, vows to find an Italian who's unable to say what's on his or her mind
❧ 2. Claudia: Claudia, a student of languages and politics, ponders doubt in Palermo's English Garden
❧ 3. Clark Kent: Claudia's political science instructor helps her to define her identity
❧ 4. Vita la Dolce: Pietro, Claudia, and Professor Kent come face to face in the English Garden
Miscellaneous
Proust in the Morning is about billable hours and transexuality
Cloud Illusions is about sex, drugs, illusions, and rock and roll
The Girl Who is about spunky girls and butterflies - Girls - The Girl Who Wrote a Book About a Girl Who Wrote a Book About Some Other Girl
The Wine-Dark Sea alternates between romance in Manhattan and a family holiday in Florida. Reworking the Greek tragedy Medea, it explores decadence & decency, betrayal & loyalty
Roma explores the curiosity of a student visiting Rome - Campo de’ Fiori - Le Differenze - The Gypsy - Mei-Lin - Zigana
The Wine-Dark Sea and Roma can be read as separate stories, yet they’re also part of extended narratives in The Pulse.