In these quirky and often erudite tales, you'll meet scores of larger-than-life characters: a canny Palm Beach trophy husband, a burnt-out college poet, and a financial adviser who startles his neighbors with his fantastic Danse du Diable. There's one of those irritating city bus riders who crowds in next to you and won't shut up.

(At one point, he confesses to his trapped seat mate, "Orangutans are my kind of guys. " And means it!)In New York City's Central Park, Catholic schoolboys fight mock battles.

In rural Florida and with just one punch from his bony hammer of a fist, a race-car mechanic (reputed to be the ugliest man who ever lived) sparks a riot that disrupts a car race and punctures the pretentions of an entire town. In a gentler tale, a young man recalls with longing his friendship with a remote, almost mystical woman; in another, a less innocent lover struggles against his unwavering adoration for his paramour, who - he knows - intends literally to destroy him.

Opera singers, posturing professors, would-be revolutionaries, and more! It's all here in Tutelary Presences: a cavalcade of memorable characters and remarkable events guaranteed to bring you unparalleled illumination and unstinting delight. .