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The stories in Jerry Levy's collection, "Urban Legend," are at times both eloquent and graceful, but more often his writing comes off as tough-minded and arresting. His relentless pursuit to get inside the heads of his characters gives his work a psychological edge.

There is the man who, devastated by the death of his fiance, enlists the aid of a rabbi schooled in Kaballah to help him erect a golem in her image; a woman who, unable to find work with her liberal arts degree, decides to rob banks; a woman who slowly drives her manipulating boyfriend mad, or the sculptress about to commit suicide who rescues a cat from a busy highway and instantly gains notoriety. Or, as in ?tolen Words? a man called to clean up the apartment of a woman he barely knew, discovers a treasure trove of unpublished literary works that he hopes will send him on the road to fame, and in ?he Scarf?as a man with high aesthetic values, down on his luck, steals an expensive scarf from a law firm and sets out to find the owner.

Always, Levy? writing is smart and clear, driving his stories ahead with well-paced action and a penchant for capturing the aggressive vigour of people engaged in emotional havoc.