Culture

Self Portraits: Fictions by Frederic Tuten

Self Portraits: Fictions BY Frederic Tuten. W. W. Norton & Company. Hardcover, 256 pages. $23.
Cover of Self Portraits: Fictions

In “Self Portrait with Cheese,” a story from Frederic Tuten’s new collection, the narrator tries to give bears a seminar in the “history of humankind.” But the bears, freshly escaped from the circus, soon grow bored of both his teachings and their newfound life of ease. They resolve to return to the circus, but to perform only in the manner of their choosing.