Strategies Against Extinction

Book excerpt: Michael Nye's debut short story collection presents nine stories about people who find themselves at turning points in their lives-times of disruption and dislocation, yet also of reclamation and reinvention. These diverse characters include a war veteran turned radio broadcaster, a film projectionist, a former governor of Ohio, a second-generation comic book store owner, and a vascular surgeon at one of Boston's premier hospitals. Startling and precise in its evocations of the lives of memorable characters, Strategies Against Extinction is rich with energetic observation, attentive empathy, and a compelling spirit of uncertainty.