LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION

Wallace returns to the town of Sturbridge with nine lyrical stories about athlete and poet Ron, who has athleticism far less grim than that of Wrestling Sturbridge (1996). Though sports are essential to Ron, many of these vignettes focus on his other facets. In the lovely “I Voted for Mary Ann,” Ron copes with the death of a beloved grandfather, and a vintage issue of Playboy yields an oddly appropriate poignancy. “In Letters That Would Soar a Thousand Feet High” offers an unexpectedly hopeful view of alternative sexualities and athleticism. A summer basketball league provides a glimpse into the complexities of athletes—some dark, some casual—in “What It All Goes Back To.” These touching sketches reveal Ron’s intricacies as an artist, as a runner, and—most important—as a member of a sports-mad community. Moving and engaging. (Fiction. 11-15)