First Published by Hyperion, 1993 

Elkin’s last novella collection includes “Her Sense of Timing,” a heavily autobiographical story of a disabled college professor whose caretaking wife suddenly leaves him—surely Stanley’s worst nightmare, given how much Joan cared for him as MS steadily disabled his body. “Town Crier Exclusive” is about the spurned fiancé of the Prince of England, and the title novella satirizes academia and research grants while also blurring the lines between art and real life. The book was another critical success with low sales and would be Elkin’s last to be published in his lifetime.