The incredible appearing man / Deborah Galyan. Snow angels / Mitch Wieland -- The rememberer / Aimee Bender -- Eleven beds / William Harrison -- Arctic summer / Natalie Sears -- The past / Danica Li -- Blue boy / Kevin Canty -- Vegetable stories / Rohini Sunderam -- Balls / Ed Falco -- Why Richard can't / Nanci Kincaid -- Kappelschnitzer in mourning / Jacob M. Appel -- The incredible appearing man / Deborah Galyan.
Summary:
"Hello, I Love You: Stories of Romance, a collection of twelve stories published in the Missouri Review, explores the landscape of love and attraction. Most are lighthearted as they depict the folly of the heart. In Deborah Galyan's "The Incredible Appearing Man," a free-spirited lover from Lora's past shows up during moments when she is at a crossroads, tempting her to flee the life she has chosen as wife, mother, and schoolteacher. One by one, the former lovers of Joy Baglio's unnamed narrator in "They Could Have Been Yours" announce their engagements to other women on social media. This disrupts her life to such a degree that she develops a power that at first seems like ideal revenge but proves to be something entirely different. The lover in Aimee Bender's story "The Rememberer" is disappearing, going through a state of reverse evolution. One day he is the man Annie fell in love with, the next day an ape, and then a salamander living in a cooking pan on her kitchen counter. She discovers that sometimes love does mean letting go. Realism also abounds in this collection, with stories that depict everything from the emotional tumult of longtime marriage to the intense desire of youthful infatuation. Kenny, the lifeguard in Kevin Canty's coming-of-age story "Blue Boy," has fantasies of Mrs. Jordan while she swims her daily laps. Near tragedy brings them together, a brief friendship is forged, and lust gives way to mutual understanding. The lyrical beauty of William Harrison's "Eleven Beds" is a tribute to long-term love. Despite the obstacles of early career, brief affairs, the trials of parenthood and the insults of old age, Will and Myla remain devoted to each other and hope to be reunited after death in the "galaxies beyond imagination." The stories in Hello, I Love You remind us that the course of love seldom runs smoothly, but it is one of life's greatest pleasures and literature's richest sources of entertainment"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.