‘Time Ages in a Hurry’: Readers should savor every minute of this collection of tales

All classic stories have one thing in common: by the end of the tale, the main character has undergone a transformation - grand or small, he is different than he was at the beginning. And while stories involving dramatic changes - falling in love, losing a parent, saving the world from zombies - seem to take up most of our bookshelf space these days, it's important to take the time to read stories about small changes, too. Stories about how overhearing a song or talking with a stranger on the beach can alter us in powerful, strange ways.

Exploring these everyday epiphanies is Italian author Antonio Tabucchi's specialty, and his poignant, philosophical stories are collected in 'Time Ages in a Hurry,” a recently-translated collection that is now available in the United States (Archipelago Books).

The majority of these stories feature older men looking back at their lives, trying to understand who they were or who they have become. But explaining these observations can be difficult, as one man discovers when trying to explain atrocities he suffered in Romania to his son who hasn't the capacity - or desire - to fully understand. Or another man trying to simply explain to his doctor why he has trouble sleeping: 'Life is long, you know, and at a certain age you think back to people who aren't there anymore, you look back, at the net pulled over us, this torn net, of those who were fishing, because now they've all been fished themselves, you understand?”

He doesn't, of course. The transformation in these stories doesn't come from characters gaining understanding of the narrator's plight, but from the narrator making a small decision - say, to follow a man down the street, or tell a story to its completion - which leads to his personal growth or, in many cases, peace.

Tabucchi has done the seemingly impossible with this collection: in an era of fast-paced plots, Tabucchi's characters, language, and very form force readers to pause and reflect on one small, powerful moment. It's a pleasure each step of the way.