"Perhaps, Mario thought, some emotions did not have names--at least, not in English or Italian. Perhaps it was better to let emotions permeate us without needing to name or fix them. It let them live."
As his thirtieth birthday approaches, a man returns to a childhood vacation spot to retrieve something which was stolen from him a quarter century ago.
The Sea, at Bari is a richly sensual piece in which Claude LaLumière expertly juxtaposes the lush atmosphere of Bari's seaside against the emptiness engendered by his protagonist's loss. Every time I read this story, Bari rockets to the top of my places to visit list.