Michael Cunningham's first novel since The Hours resembles a three-movement concerto. Each of the story/movements features the same group of characters (a little boy; an older man; and a young woman) and each tale is permeated by the spirit presence of poet Walt Whitman. Borrowing its title from the Good Gray Poet's classic prose collection, Specimen Days touches down in New York during three eras: the Industrial Revolution, the Roaring '20s, and the 22nd century. Filtered through various styles and genres, the stories nevertheless retain a haunting continuity. Like The Hours, they ensnare us in ways that we cannot explain.