Tell Borges If You See Him: Tales of Contemporary Somnambulism

LaSalle's mixed third collection of short stories finds him ruminating on the flexibility of time and paying homage (with a wink) to Jorge Luis Borges among other iconic writers. LaSalle's protagonists often occupy a hazy space that isn't necessarily dictated by setting or linear time. In the opening ""Where We Last Saw Time,"" an older man recounts his Harvard days and attempts to rescue his college sweetheart from a premature death by retracing his movements on one night in 1968. ""Nocturne"" follows college professor Davey on his pilgrimage to Proust's reconstructed bedroom in Paris in order to revive his relationship with his younger girlfriend. In the title story, a down on his luck businessman plunders Argentina's cash reserves. There are a couple of small missteps; the admittedly ""clunky"" ""The End of Narrative"" awkwardly delves into meta-fiction when a man stumbles upon his lover's blog, and the hurried ""Preseason: The Texas Football Dead"" never gives its characters a chance. In another story, a surrealistic war between chain bookstores escalates into military campaigns. LaSalle (Hockey Sur Glace) is at his best in the longer stories, and the frequent references to literary theory and dead writers may have readers reaching for long-neglected classics.