Set in Cairo, they are filled with "fable-like scenarios and reappearing characters", according to UK publisher Saqi Books, which will release the stories in English next autumn.
In what may be the first examples of wide usage of reappearing characters, Honoré de Balzac linked many of his novels in this way; minor characters in one book would star in another, giving readers a sense of the breadth and coherence of his imaginary world.
But when she retired in her late 50s, "words came tumbling out of closets and drawers, leaking from rusty faucets and reappearing as character actors," said Ms. Shulklapper, now 80.
To take the first charge: Munro writes very long short stories (sometimes up to 60 pages), occasionally interlinked, with characters reappearing throughout a collection.
Mr. Villeneuve was using this software to view these data files in a basement at the University of Toronto when he noticed a seemingly innocuous but puzzling string of 22 characters reappearing in different files.
Many of the characters reappear throughout the series, with the character roster changing as new characters are added or removed.
However, voice actress Sirena Irwin overtook Tibbitt's role as the character reappeared in the fourth season episode "Enemy In-Law" in 2005.
The character reappeared in about a dozen films, most recently in "Tomb of the Werewolf" (2004).
Drawing on native American Trickster myths, a character reappears throughout this slangy, crazy and violently irreverent book.
Each time a character reappears, doors open between the stories, enlarging the view in a way that's pleasing even when the stories aren't of equal strength.
