The Mundane Habits of the Opposite Sex

Abstract

The stories in The Mundane Habits of the Opposite Sex explore themes of identity, loss, gender, and the often-complex landscape of human interaction. These are relationship stories, coming-of-age stories. Stories about searching for answers to mysteries both large and small. Loneliness is de rigueur for these characters despite a fervent desire to connect with others in a meaningful way. A Congressional intern misrepresents herself in order to mingle with the Washington in-crowd, a fledgling screenwriter is intrigued by an enigmatic woman with a distinct tattoo, a runaway honor student and an alcoholic former cop become unlikely travel companions on a cross-country road trip, and Iowa teenagers resist their own mortality by hanging out in a small-town graveyard. These stories ask the question: if we don’t fully know ourselves, how well will we ever truly know someone else? In settings both dreamy and extraordinarily commonplace, from sleepy diners to abandoned tourist traps, from the real world to places weird and imaginary, this collection examines the rare moments of beauty and persistent minefields that arise while navigating the convoluted intricacies of human experience.