After Jerusalem: Short Fiction

In the allegorical novella After Jerusalem, a beautiful Palestinian double agent in the Israeli army and a visiting American pianist are caught up in a plot to assassinate the prime minister of Israel.

In "Acrophobia and the Professor," a distinguished marine biologist battles her irrational fear of heights.

In "American Oratorio," an eighteenth-century colonial composer accidentally duplicates the world's most famous piece of choral music.

"An Army of Beggars" finds a stoned Florida Keys homeowner taking a break from gardening to entertain conflicting hallucinations.

In "Dad Fakes His Death and Goes West," the middle-aged son of a CIA agent dreams that his father made good on his threat to trade domestic predictability for the rugged frontier life of his youth.

In "The Fine Art of Professional Suicide" (featuring several characters from Howland's previous titles), a Key West writer learns the danger of using an old friend as the model for a fictional femme fatale.

"The Jazz Buyer" celebrates the goofy cast of characters who make up the staff of a doomed Baltimore record store.

"Murder in the Ivory Tower" travels the dark corridors of an East Coast music conservatory where genius and mediocrity share the spotlight.

"The Permanent Resident" examines the fine line between living alone and living a fantasy.

In "Public Sex," a beautiful Georgetown sex addict visits a twelve-step program just for fun.

In "The Southernmost Erection," an anonymous philanthropist challenges a tacky tourist town to clean up its act.

In "Stay," a Key West taxi driver unwittingly causes a series of suicides and then seeks the counsel of a psychic friend-with-benefits.

"A Whole New Leonard" follows a Miami journalist distracted by a dramatic overnight change in his anatomy.

And "The Younger Woman's Wordplay" recalls an intellectually stimulating romance with a horrible secret.