Jay Neugeboren’s short, read­able sto­ries adept­ly pull the read­er into the moment. ​”The Import­ed Man” is a mov­ing glimpse into the thoughts and wish­es of a retired piece goods fin­ish­er; child­less and a wid­ow­er, he lives on the mar­gins. ​“The Amer­i­can Sun & Wind Mov­ing Pic­ture Com­pa­ny” tells of a fam­i­ly col­lab­o­rat­ing on a film. Neuge­boren cap­tures the back and forth dis­cus­sions, the famil­ial com­pli­ca­tions, as the fam­i­ly makes mis­takes and changes them into some­thing usable. Quite a few of the most inter­est­ing sto­ries involve liv­ing with a men­tal­ly ill rel­a­tive The expe­ri­ences Neuge­boren relates are not only Jew­ish ones; every group will find some detail that is a part of dai­ly life.