In a series of stories that are shocking, sexy, charming, and ultimately unforgettable, Miranda July explores the hearts and minds of characters who are desperate for human connection and yet don't know what to do when it actually happens. In the brilliant opening story, "The Shared Patio," a woman longs to share her neighbor's life, but learns that her fantasy of him has no resemblance to reality. In "The Swim Team," a young woman teaches three elderly citizens in a town with no water how to swim. A man who works at a leather factory gets set-up by his co-worker for a date that never arrives in "The Sister." In "Something That Needs Nothing," a young woman's job at a peep show changes her identity in the eyes of her friend, allowing for their relationship to take a different course. In these stories Miranda July shows a remarkable skill for inhabiting the hearts and minds of a varied cast of characters, imbuing them with a tenderness and humanity that is the mark of a great writer.
