In this collection, Arthur looks into life’s mirror and offers an account of what can be seen in ordinary things. Each of the book’s fourteen essays is an exercise in seeing beyond the obvious, and finding hidden depth in the places and things we might otherwise take for granted. Arthur ranges over subjects as various as a patch of lichen growing on a windowsill, memories of a childhood barber’s shop, the inscriptions on park benches, goldcrests (Europe’s smallest bird), different ways of seeing a statue, and the dimensions of a moment.

Whether he’s writing about the plight of nineteenth century Japanese prostitutes, a ferret’s momentary appearance through a letterbox, a girl’s obsession with the Holocaust, or a black and white photograph of a child holding a horse in a snowy field in Sweden, these unorthodox meditations, with striking lyricism, tap into unexpected seams of mystery in our everyday terrain. The book offers a virtuoso demonstration of the potential of the creative essay.

In Hidden Cargoes, Arthur ranges over subjects as various as a girl’s ear, a vulture’s egg, and the letters in a Scrabble game. Whatever the topic—and Arthur’s interests are wide-ranging, to say the least—these unorthodox meditations tap into unexpected seams of meaning and mystery.

Whether he’s writing about owls, leaves, a street in his hometown, the stomach of a termite, or the coincidence of three hearts beating in unlikely synchrony, Arthur offers a virtuoso demonstration of how the creative essay can uncover the extraordinariness of ordinary things. Hidden Cargoes confirms his standing as one of the best writers of this form today.