The eleven stories in The Decline of Our Neighborhood provide further proof that Robert Wexelblatt is a writer of uncommon intelligence and verve. Unusual characters in strange circumstances struggle here for meaning and vision. Glnin, a writer, suddenly finds himself president of an unnamed republic. Katy Moffit, sometime comic and smart alec, takes on the sleepy town of Benton, Indiana. Appearances are also made by Ishl Teitelbaum, the Savior; "the famous courtesan Lucina, " who visits the hermit Arnaud and falls in love; the Alpha Company Artists' Collaborative; Isaac Fehderflos, a well-known violinist, and improbably a second Isaac Fehderflos, who is not a violinist; and the astonishing Olmaler, painter in oils, better known as O'Malley, who does not want to live if he cannot paint - and means it. As always, Wexelblatt's stories are about both language and people. They enter the consciousness of the reader in surprising and moving ways. Readers who have not encountered Robert Wexelblatt's work are in for a treat. Those who already know him will be eager to see what's new in his delightful universe.