Last Worthless Evening

Andrew Dubus has forged an enduring place for himself in American literature as a writer of eloquence, passion, and strength, and The Last Worthless Evening is one of the collections that has most contributed to his reputation. The novellas begin in the Navy, where two young officers, one black and one white, discover each other as friends amid the residual racism of the the 1960s. Another novella pays shrewd homage to the detective story, while still another, "Rose," offers a moving defense of a woman who refuses to be defeated by her abusive husband.