The author is a spinner of tales, and one of his subjects is love. In "An Amorous Life," he creates the character of Wes Pearce, and tells stories about his love life. In Edendale High, Wes loses his innocence; in graduate school, he enjoys a visiting co-ed on the university bookstore floor; in Rothenburg, Germany, he and Paula "know" each other in an inexpensive pension; and in retirement in Northampton, MA, he has now become quite the ladies' man. While in a tryst with an attractive mature widow, his heart peters out. At his memorial service, a flower child says, "I just thought he was a horny old man."