The Spirit Returns

Richard Burgin has won three Pushcart Prizes for his stories, and ten other stories have been listed by the Pushcart Prize anthology as being among the year's best. Two of his books were named Notable Books of the Year by "The Philadelphia Inquirer".

A collection of short fiction by Richard Burgin. His characters are everyday people at emotional and psychological crossroads. In the title story, a man who takes pleasure out of frightening strangers is forced to deal with his own fears when he shares this pleasure with one of those strangers.The Spirit Returns is the fourth collection of original short fiction from Richard Burgin. His characters are everyday people at emotional and psychological crossroads. In "The Liar," a man opening up to a dinner companion is reminded of the emptiness of his own life when the promise of emotional intimacy unexpectedly goes unfulfilled. A couple on a date face their own gender prejudices, past disappointments, and sexual expectations in "Carbo's". In the title story, a man who takes an unusual pleasure out of frightening strangers is forced to deal with his own fears when he shares this pleasure with one of those strangers. These are flawed but genuine individuals, rooted in honesty and compassion, and the lines of their compelling stories trace journeys through insecurity, despair, and, ultimately, hope. She didn't have anything to say so she smiled as he sat down. When he got settled she looked at him and the oddest thing happened. She couldn't see his face. She knew he was a man, but where his face was supposed to be, there was a blankness like a white sheaf of sky. - from "Carbo's"