Summary

In “Boring Friends,” the narrator notes they have only four boring acquaintances, while finding all other friends interesting. However, these interesting friends tend to find the narrator boring—especially the most interesting ones.

In “A Mown Lawn,” the narrator describes a woman who hates a mown lawn and plays with its sounds and letters. A dislike of mown lawns becomes linked to “woman,” “moan,” “man,” “Nam,” “law,” and “lawman” (199).

In “City People,” a couple moves from the city to the countryside, which has pleasant elements like quail and frogs but leaves them unsettled. They argue more and panic over animal sounds. The man concludes that they are “city people,” but that no nice cities remain (200).

In “Betrayal,” a woman’s fantasies about men other than her husband evolve as she ages. Once involving sexual intimacy, they shift to imagined affection, understanding...