Wrestling the Bear

Wrestling the Bear is a first collection of nineteen stories.  Many of the stories deal with synchronicity – the remarkable moments of coincidence when lives collide.  The characters represent a range:  male, female, young, and old, including dead Elvis, Jimmy Hoffa and the Emperor of New York City.  The stories reveal webs of entanglement and often redemption. The stories are tinged with the surreal.  Their settings work as characters whether it is an unnamed island of Central America, Brooklyn, or the streets of Detroit and its surrounding working class suburbs. Sirotkin writes with poetic language and rhythm, reflecting her background in poetry and performance.