Amazon.com (ISBN 0395857961, Paperback)

Despite what one might surmise from the subtitle of Personals, it is not a collection of dreams and nightmares but of personal essays by 20 variously gifted young writers. Editor Thomas Beller's mandate to his contributors, most of whom are under 30, was to "find something that matters to you and write a story about it." Too many of these writers live in New York City and too many are annoyingly self-indulgent (and editorially indulged). But much of what they write about--desperately seeking to lose one's virginity, life during and after a heroin addiction, dating in the electronic age, dropping out of Wesleyan, the effects of a rootless childhood, straddling two cultures, working as an overeducated bagel-store employee--is interesting because of what it reveals about our times. And several of the essays--in particular Bliss Broyard's "My Father's Daughter"--are genuinely thoughtful and affecting. --Jane Steinberg

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0395857961, Paperback)

Here, in an edgy and provocative collection by some of America's most talented young writers, are the raw and personal truths of those in their twenties in the 1990s: essays on founding a theater company, on guarding your virginity, on searching for the perfect job . . . or the perfect love. Alongside stories of a Catholic single mother or a savvy bartender come musings on a southern road trip gone haywire and an outrageous childhood in the Midwest. A gritty mix of candor, longing, and desire, this collection lays bare life's highs, lows, and in-betweens for a stunningly gifted and eclectic group. A MARINER ORIGINAL.