Like Men, Made Various

Here’s a writer! Paul Bowers’s Like Men, Made Various is aptly titled­—a “biological philosopher” seeks the essence of Life, only to be overwhelmed by the sonogram vision of his soon-to-be-born daughter; a Vietnam vet eccentrically acts out his post-traumatic stress; the father of a cancer-stricken child rages against the conventional concept of God’s Providence; the president of a failing small college stages a desperate sit-in to revive it; a man commits suicide by drowning as he kills the mule that killed his wife . . . Bowers’s range is seemingly limitless, his stories intelligent, imaginative, profound, and polished to a compelling luster. —Gordon Weaver