The tradition of a story framed by another story traces back before recorded history. The snake has been eating its own tail for at least 7000 years. This anthology is radically new but depends on something so ancient it may be intrinsically human. Authors wrote varied pieces-contemporary, historical, futuristic, fantastical-in which a character tells a story--but the authors did not know what the story within would be! The question underlying the exercise is straightforward: Are stories so fundamental to our humanity that any story can serve as both a frame around, and an illustration within, any other? Thanks to the talent of these skilled storytellers, the result is a marvelous series of matryoshka dolls which nest inside one another, proof that experimental fiction can be fun to read, and that we exist encircled by narrative.
