Friedman: Collected Short Fiction

From poignant bildungsroman to sly satire, from wicked comedy to surrealistic farce, this virtuosic collection covers more than four decades' worth of short stories (1952-1995) by novelist (Stern), screenwriter (Stir Crazy), and playwright (Steambath) Friedman. With a caricaturist's gift for evoking complexities in a few quick strokes, Friedman illuminates the minds of both ordinary guys and egregious eccentrics as they grapple with pivotal decisions. A college professor contemplates life as a pimp; another man dreams of helping Sammy Davis Jr. relax. A hospital patient's EKG follows fluctuations in a stock price; a suicide ``jumper'' refuses to be sweet-talked by a cop. The 48 stories here are grouped into seven sections (``Crazed Youth''; ``Sex''; ``Death,'' and so on); several of the tales feature Harry Towns, a screenwriter who wrestles with personal responsibility, the uncertainty of Hollywood life and a recreational cocaine habit. In still other stories, one Martin Gans attends strangers' funerals to make sure enough fuss is made; Mr. Prinzo devises a perverse test of his analyst's discretion; Mr. Dworkin weaves elaborate sexual fantasies as he interviews job applicants. Throughout, Friedman explores themes such as loneliness, aging, fear, parenthood and ethnicity, spinning tales in an expertly modulated voice that lies somewhere equidistant from those of Wilde, Salinger and Woody Allen. (Oct.)