Married but Looking: Stories

Puschart Prize-winner Libman's debut collection establishes him as a talented and original new voice in contemporary fiction. Many stories provide a glimpse into the minds of characters contemplating adultery. In the title story, a married couple travels to Paris where the wife proceeds to send romantic Facebook messages to a former boyfriend, while the husband patronizes a sex club, only to become too racked with guilt to act on his desires. In "Best Man," the protagonist, Boze, attends an out of state wedding without his wife and lusts after another woman. Libman manages to make Boze sympathetic, despite his lechery. In "In the Belly of the Cat," the elderly main character, Mr. Christopher, calls up a prostitute with the plan to cook a fancy meal with recipes he found in the newspaper's food section. However, she only has an hour before her pimp will interrupt them, so Mr. Christopher must rush through the evening. With these skillful examinations of the human condition, Libman will surely have a long career. (Dec.)