Sensory endeavors

Alison Singer
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:46:26 PDT

'Sensory Endeavors, ' a collection of seven short stories, uses a variety of protagonists to explore different themes. Breaking with traditional short story collections, I have put together stories with no apparent connection in an attempt to span the vastness of human existence. In 'Playing Chess, ' a middle-aged phone sex operator learns to accept the fact that her dying father is more important than the men on the other end of the phone. 'Things of Light and Beauty' travels through a girl's imagination as she escapes the house in which her mother dies and her father ignores her, until her fantasy world helps her recapture happiness. The stories, while investigating common human experiences, use bizarre, and sometimes fantastical, scenarios to explore these experiences. In 'Legs, ' a man's wife chops off both his legs, which leads to a rift between two lifelong friends. The protagonist of 'Drowning' disappears into the ocean on some nights, and this inhibits her ability to have a child. Throughout the collection, the stories embrace the unexpected to demonstrate that no matter the situation, at the heart of everyone, is a common humanity.