Appassionata

Set in author Moris Senegor's native Turkey and throughout the Mediterranean, "Appassionata" is an intriguing and evocative compilation of short stories.

A young Turkish bus driver encounters more than one surprise, thanks to a small dog in the cargo hold-and what he chooses to do with it in "On the Night Bus to Fethiye."

Set in 1960s Istanbul, "Nash" mixes a fascination for vintage cars with a young boy's promise to the impoverished driver who ferries him faithfully to school.

"Royal Visit" and "The Savage" capture coming-of-age moments, while "Ronnie's Tip" depicts an unwitting immigrant teenager involved in an act for which he has no cultural reference.

In "Marley's Ghosts," "Unlikely Friends," and "Testicle Talk," readers have the opportunity to listen in on some bizarre conversations, and in "Surabaya," they discover the nobility of a seeming huckster.

Lovers of Kafka will delight in the unsettling "Nightmare," and fans of chance encounters will find a satisfying harmony played out between two young men and a woman in Southern Italy in the title story, "Appassionata."

Taken together, these tales are equal parts playful, poignant, mysterious, and appealingly bizarre-a winning combination sure to appeal to fiction lovers of all tastes and backgrounds.