Dog Years

The nine stories in this promising collection explore the shifting concepts of health and wellness in the modern world, in the drab laboratories of disease researchers, sanitized operating rooms, and the picturesque mountains of Davos, Switzerland. The title story poignantly explores the minutiae of raising a terminally ill child, examining how illness can seep into even the smallest moments. In "Firstborn," a Francophile accidentally invites the wrong niece on a much-needed vacation to Paris, only for the niece to abscond the night before the trip. An advocate for injured veterans wrestles with her affections for a general (a man with "no face") in "Hounds." A disgraced businesswoman enrolls in a cheap (and bizarrely effective) self-help regimen in "The Program%E2%84%A2." Yancy deftly navigates the rarely seen backstage of the betterment industry, lightening the often heavy subject matter with welcome injections of irony and humor. The collection's cumulative effect is heartening and lasting. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit. (Oct.)