Saint Smith and Other Stories by Richard Seltzer

Paperback edition. Saint Smith and Other Stories consists of two novellas and five short stories. "Saint Smith" focuses on Charlie, a would-be experimental film maker, Sarah his traditional Bible-believing mother, and Irene the clever ironic uninhibited German woman he marries. "The Barracks" takes place in basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, at the time of the Viet Nam War. The five stories deal with puzzles of human nature and the meaning of life.

"[Saint Smith is] rich in thought and peopled with intriguing characters (each soul exotic in its own peculiar mix of angels and demons, reality and fantasy, order and anarchy). The selected episodes of their lives are like pieces in an interlocking jigsaw puzzle which, when assembled, present another puzzle – the “What’s wrong with this picture?” kind. Everyone and everything is in its appropriate place, all is proper. Yet something is missing. Something isn’t right. Somehow it all has the quality of a dream. And yet it isn’t a dream – it’s life. The theme of sandcastles, the building of houses, the mansions in houses, the building of lives, the dream of living, Charlie with his camera like waves sweeping over fragile constructions at once real and make believe is all brilliant, and challenging. It has a Barth, Vonnegut, even Borges aspect to it, as do the rest of the pieces in the collection, only without the surrealism, which may make it even more effective as the impact settles in."

-- Rex Sexton, author of "Desert Flower", "The Time Hotel", Night Without Stars", and "X Ray Eyes"