Improvising Rivers

The unobtrusive technical mastery and almost classical precision of his style would alone be enough to make David Jauss's collection a notable one. But there is a unique depth and resonance in Jauss's work which is the real source of his accomplishment. Like Flaubert, Chekhov, and the jazz musicians who figure as tutelary spirits in his collection, Jauss sees the exercise of style as a form of pilgrimage to the human heart. And he knows the heart in all of its intricacies, misery, and spendor. It is hardly the fashion anymore to label a book as noble - but no other word will suffice. -- David Wojahn