Here is a collection of short stories with widely ranging subjects and emotions:  from the whimsical recollections of a pre-teen about her mother's family in "Para Lollie con Amor," to the sombre musings of a woman whose guilty love for her mother conflicts with the reality of a nursing home.  In between are stories about the loss of a child, alcoholism, rape, a ten year old's account of his dysfunctional family and life in New York City seen through the eyes of a romantic seventeen year old.  To complete the collection is a series of sketches -- slices of life about war, the sixties, love and exotic connections to past civilizations.