You ll see how beautiful it is in the morning jungle all around us, says one of the characters in Anne Raeff s story collection, referring to the way that the jungle that threatens can also provide solace. The jungle in these stories is both metaphorical and real, taking the reader from war-torn Europe to Bolivia and from suburban New Jersey to Vietnam. Raeff examines how war and violence, like the jungle, seep into our lives, even when we are no longer in danger and long after the war is over.

While struggling with fear, danger, and displacement, the characters of The Jungle...