Urban Legend

The stories in Jerry Levy's collection, Urban Legend, are at times both eloquent and graceful, but more often his writing comes off as tough-minded and arresting. His relentless pursuit to get inside the heads of his characters gives his work a psychological edge.

There is the man who, devastated by the death of his fiance, enlists the aid of a rabbi schooled in Kaballah to help him erect a golem in her image; a woman who, unable to find work with her liberal arts degree, decides to rob banks; a woman who slowly drives her manipulating boyfriend mad, or the sculptress about to commit suicide who rescues a cat from a busy highway and instantly gains notoriety.