cover image Sophocles' Antigone

Sophocles' Antigone

Sophocles, Gita Wolf-Sampath, Title Sophocles. J. Paul Getty Trust Publications, $25 (28pp) ISBN 978-0-89236-637-8

Equipped with absurdist twists, the 18 short stories of Dreams, Demons and Desire by British novelist Wendy Perriam (Lying, etc.) are simply written tales of modern (and not so modern) malaise. In ""Angelfish,"" a disgruntled lodger turns his rage on a trio of unlucky tropical fish; in ""Dudley,"" a husband and wife dream of the dog they love more than they love each other; in ""Paraquat,"" an enormously fat painter devours 12 loaves of bread. This is Perriam's first story collection, and while her prose is polished, she sometimes falters in her plotting.