In Interior Designs, her fifth novel from Black Sparrow, Sherril Jaffe rediscovers the resonant central theme of her last effort, House Tours("grounded, solid" -- The Village Voice): the distinct "character" of dwelling place revealed in the ways those places affect and reflect emotional states. In a series of short, deceptively simple interlinked prose vignettes, Jaffe here explores the multiple meanings of "home": an inner space, spiritual extension of ourselves; a place of shelter and protection from an impermanent world; a potential storehouse of profound affective memories. Gentle humor is an important means for Jaffe, whose ends are rueful understanding and quiet illumination.