There is, beneath the surface of our lives, a greater significance, even hints of a greater reality. Some call this idea illumination; others, illusion. This is the world in which the stories of "Out of the Alley and Other Stories" are placed. Here the reader will find tales of deep despair and brilliant hope--but not always in the same story. Most of these stories take place in Manhattan, a place of chaotic energy, both creative and destructive. One character explores grimy alleys full of the discarded pieces of two lives. Elsewhere, a tortured man in crisis recreates the Tabernacle built by Moses out of abandoned furniture and bed sheets. A penny-ante cryptographer despairs of losing his sight in Bellevue Hospital, while an advertising executive receives advice in Central Park from a gondolier who may not be entirely real. Delinquent fathers, performance artists, punk rockers, ritual magicians, and living gods: these are some of the characters in this debut collection of nine short stories by Mark Koltko-Rivera. Each story is illustrated in black and white, * and the collection begins with maps showing locations mentioned in the stories. Several of these stories have appeared in online literary magazines. The stories include: . "Spiritual Practice" . "The Cryptographer" . "Out of the Alley" . "Art Form" . "The Gondolier of Bethesda Landing" . "The Death of Mozart" . "The Blueprints" . "The Lines" . "The Most Holy Place" *An edition of this book with full-color illustrations is also available.