"Originally published in hardcover in slightly different form in Great Britain by Picador, an imprint of Macmillian Publishers Ltd., London, in 1998 as The Picador book of Latin American stories." -- t.p. verso. The aleph -- The balcony -- The third bank of the river -- The one who came to save me -- Hell most feared -- Luvina -- Blow-up -- Love -- Ana Marâia -- The handsomest drowned man in the world -- The melancholic pedestrian -- The wardrobe, the old man and death -- Subterranean river -- The scissors -- Orion's glow -- A new man -- Bukhara nocturne -- Getting even -- House of passion -- Panther eyes -- The queen -- A brief reappearance by Florence, this autumn -- The stroke of midnight -- Van Gogh's ear -- The cyclist of San Cristâobal Hill -- Notes from Buenos Aires -- The feast -- The benefactor -- The centerfielder -- Naturally -- Mirror images -- [from] Big-eyed women -- Taxi driver, minus Robert De Niro -- Don't tell her you love her -- Voice of the water -- [from] Naturalezas menores -- Coyote -- National sovereignty -- Clamour.