Alexander displays an intuitive grasp of the complexity of family relationships and the power of long-term friendships. As one of his protagonists says, life is about 'learning tensions'-tensions that arise more often than not from misconnection and miscommunication. Yet despite their restlessness, the stories glitter with persistent hopes. There is a hint of Malamud here, and Roth, where reality tilts under its own weight and becomes suddenly humorous, suddenly surreal, suddenly painful. But always, always here, metaphor and language have their own story to tell, producing a withering assault on sense, on sound, on sentiment.
Hunger is an informed and marvelous first collection of short stories.
He lives in Venice, California. Ian Randall Wilson 's short stories and poetry have appeared in many journals including The Gettysburg Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and North American Review. A faculty member at the UCLA Extension, he is the winner of the 1994 Cera Foundation Poetry Award. Dexter Giles is drawn sensitively, with impeccable and often subtle detail. Alexander is an accomplished writer with a deft hand for characterization, and his work is a joy to read.