Cockfosters

Cockfosters is the name of a station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground. In the titular story of this playful collection, a trip to that station to recover a pair of lost eyeglasses is a MacGuffin for two friends sharing family news and commiserating on the indignities of aging. In “Kentish Town,” the choice of The Chimes over A Christmas Carol for a public reading leads to a shaggy but interesting discussion between three book group ladies about the Dickensian era and the author himself. “Kythera” is built around a recipe for something called “lemon drizzle”: a mother faithfully follows instructions, drifting into a reverie about other memorable dishes and her sometimes prickly relationship with her daughter. The affecting “Cheapside” tracks the unusual friendship between a middle-aged man and an aimless teenager. “Arizona” takes a cheeky look at health declining due to age. The most substantial of the nine stories is the novella-length “Berlin,” following a group of British tourists in that city. Descriptions of attractions are woven in with bits of conversation and flashbacks involving a couple whose relationship is in turmoil. This is a loose and entertaining collection. (June)