The Business of Naming Things

Michael Coffey

Michael Coffey’s first collection of short stories is a masterpiece of exquisite writing and daring revelations. His characters are overwhelmed by their inherited circumstances, poor life choices and lingering regrets, which they somehow rally to accept with poise and even grim humor. Lonely priests, rakish cognoscenti, and troubled teenagers frequent the pages, but the best stories delve into the fragile, explosive relationships between fathers and sons, filled with hopes and failures. The final story, Finishing Ulysses, is a brilliant imaginative journey that recasts Joyce’s Dublin excursion into Philadelphia, with shades of William Kennedy’s novel, Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game. Set in post-war 1947, Bob Doherty and his pal Jimmy Curran race through Philly’s rainy nightlife, chasing shots of whiskey as trumpet great Clifford Brown blasts out Night in Tunisia. They are enraptured by the elusive poetry of life that is wrapped up in music, literature, adventure, and the seemingly infinite possibilities of youth.
Bellevue Literary Press

$15.95 paper / 208 pages / January 2015