SOURCE: Garrett, George. “Chicago Stories.” Chicago Tribune Books (13 October 1991): 6-7.

In the following laudatory review, Garrett identifies the unifying aspects of the stories in The Goldin Boys.

When a writer of earned reputation in one field tests that talent within a different form—poet writes novel, novelist writes play, playwright does a movie—we tend to be skeptical, wondering how much professional skill will be transferable and if the level of performance will be comparable. Will we have to make allowances? Will the master of one craft become a clumsy apprentice at another?

Northwestern English professor, respected editor of The American Scholar, and tried and true essayist, Joseph Epstein has no problems holding his own as a creator of fiction in the nine stories collected in The Goldin Boys. Some readers will have encountered some of the stories separately, for all have previously appeared in magazines, seven in...