"Ron says to Harry, 'This guy inherits an island from some benign son-of-a-bitch.' Harry presses his palms on the cement, adjusting his butt against a piece of insulation, his daybed. He watches forms passing in the street, the dusky light slanting. 'Must be six by now.'”   Two stories in one: a cold alley, a tropical island... is either more real than the other? A death wish can be expressed in many ways.