The collection of short stories that won the 2005 Thesis Award from Notre Dame de Namur University’s English Department takes the reader through six journeys in its characters’ lives. A priest retiring from his isolated parish in a Canadian fishing village travels west to find new ways of life and new friends. A young man faces the reality of his inability to connect with his world. A “confirmed bachelor” fantasizes about tuning up the life of others and finds himself in need of a tune up. Another bachelor travels to Paris, causing minor incidents while reflecting on his failed relationship. A married woman discovers a new kind of attraction outside of her quiet suburban life. An American family finds itself framed in dreams and thoughts of modernist fiction (Virginia Woolf) while visiting London.

The collection of short stories that won the 2005 Thesis Award from Notre Dame de Namur University’s English Department takes the reader through six journeys in its characters’ lives. A priest retiring from his isolated parish in a Canadian fishing village travels west to find new ways of life and new friends. A young man faces the reality of his inability to connect with his world. A “confirmed bachelor” fantasizes about tuning up the life of others and finds himself in need of a tune up. Another bachelor travels to Paris, causing minor incidents while reflecting on his failed relationship. A married woman discovers a new kind of attraction outside of her quiet suburban life. An American family finds itself framed in dreams and thoughts of modernist fiction (Virginia Woolf) while visiting London.