Originally published: Farrar, Straus and giroux, USA ;1994.

Goodbye and good luck -- A woman, young and old -- The pale pink roast -- The loudest voice -- The contest -- An interest in life -- An irrevocable diameter -- The used boy raisers -- A subject of childhood -- In time which made a monkey of us all -- The floating truth -- Wants -- Debts -- Distance -- Faith in the afternoon -- Gloomy tune -- Living -- Come on, ye sons of art -- Faith in a tree -- Samuel -- The burdened man -- Enormous changes at the last minute -- Politics -- Northeast playground -- The little girl -- A conversation with my father -- The immigrant story -- The long-distance runner -- Love -- Dreamer in a dead language -- In the garden -- Somewhere else -- Lavinia: an old story -- Friends -- At that time, or the history of a joke -- Anxiety --In this country. but in another language, my aunt refuses to marry the men everyone wants her to -- Mother -- Ruthy and Edie -- A man told me the story of his life -- The story hearer -- This is a story about my friend George the toy inventor -- Zagrowsky tells -- The expensive moment -- Listening.