On the Heroism of Mortals

This is a collection of eleven short stories whose common theme is the heroism of our flawed lives. It explores the arduousness of people s lives and covers such diverse subjects as human solidarity, generational change, single parenthood, domestic violence, the tragic complexity of revolution, police brutality, artistic hubris, and the limitations of rationalism. In `The Hat' , a polish Jew on the run in Eastern Europe goes to a town in search for food and, noticing the large number of German soldiers on patrol, hides himself in a funeral procession. But he stands out as the only mourner without a hat. As he walks along, another man places his hat on the fugitive s head: an example of man s humanity to man. In `Living with the Polish Count' , the young Soviet Republic struggles to keep foreign and reactionary forces at bay and in so doing loses the morality that initially inspired them. In `The Selfish Geneticist' , lunch in a smart restaurant exposes the rift between two academics, both dogmatic and contemptuous of others, but one more strictly rational and the other more influenced by his human emotions.