<P>From the award-winning author of <i>The Tunnel</i> and <i>A Temple of Texts</i>, come four interrelated novellas that explore good and evil, action and thought, redemption and possession. The reader will encounter here a traveling salesman who gets lost in the kitschy clutter of a small town in Illinois, a young woman in rural Iowa who loses touch with the outside world and turns to the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop as anchor, and the coming-of-age story of a devilish young man named Luther (who might as well be called Lucifer). These stories are filled with the familiar style, brilliance, philosophy, and wit that fans of William Gass have come to expect and cherish.</P><P>"The finest prose stylist in America." -Steven Moore, <i>Washington Post</i></P><P>"Invigorating and extremely intelligent." -<i>New York Times Book Review</i></P><P>"All in all, Gass is in peak form in this heady and provocative volume." -<i>Booklist</i></P><P>"In <i>Cartesian Sonata</i>, Gass once again proves he is one of the few American writers who pens sentences readers can dance in." -Bill Marx, <i>The Boston Globe</i></P><P>"Gass serves up an enticing mix of high-flown lyricism, sketchy narrative and momentary brilliance in his playful latest fiction. . . . Gass is an engrossing character-portraitist." -<i>Publishers Weekly</i></P>