Agent: Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, DeFiore and Co. The author has an impressive range, and his depictions of complex characters trapped in untenable situations are hard to forget. Taylor’s language sparks with the tension of beauty and cruelty, conveying a sense of desire and the pleasures of food and sex complicated by capricious behavior. (The client of a young woman who works as a home cook and a babysitter in “Little Beast” turns out to be the doctor of one of Charles’s dance classmates.) In the marvelous “Meat,” Lionel concludes, “All of life was shifting equations.” Throughout, Taylor spins intimate narratives of fraught relationship dynamics and demonstrates a keen sensitivity to his characters’ fragile mental health. As the sequence continues, supporting characters are linked by various circumstances. “Proctoring,” a standout featuring Lionel at work, further complicates the triangle.
“Flesh” shifts perspective to Charles in his dance class the next morning, and delineates his complex dynamic with Sophie. A mutual attraction emerges, despite some awkwardness and the presence of Charles’s partner, Sophie. Many of the stories cover a 24-hour period in Madison, Wis., beginning with the excellent “Pot Luck.” Lionel, an exam proctor and mathematician who is recently out of psychiatric care following a suicide attempt, goes to a dinner party and meets Charles, a dancer. Contact the publisher to see if you can set up a phone or Skype chat.) 14. If you were to talk with the author, what would you want to know (Many authors enjoy talking with book clubs. Taylor follows his Booker shortlisted Real Life with a sharp, surprising collection. Does the book remind you of your own life An event A personlike a friend, family member, boss, co-worker 13.
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