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In these 17 stories, a small circle of intelligent, concerned friends cluster about a central figure, Faith, who listens, observes, questions, remembers, and records their lifelong attachments. In this selection of her work over the past 10 years, Paley's themes have changed only as much as life's constants change with the passage of time. Her characters are deeply involved with their parents, their lovers and friends, and their children, and the welfare of the wider community. In these stories we meet the neighborhood druggist with his tale of familial heartbreak; a father in Puerto Rico who cannot accept the loss of his child by kidnapping; a black woman who bemoans woman's lot; a visitor from China who is concerned about how to raise children; a craftsman whose beautiful creation is stillborn. The whole collection is graced with the author's warmth and aphoristic wit, her telling ear for dialogue, and her quintessential storytelling art. ISBN 0-374-18409-7: $13.95.… (more)
User reviews
Checking other reviews, I see I’m of a minority who can’t stand these type of stories. I did expect to like this collection more
On the whole I was either bored, irritated, or both. I skipped a few tales, owing to them grating on my nerves. I especially hate how, in all but one of the tales, there’re no quotation marks for dialogue. Several times I hadn’t a clue who was talking, or if it was the narrator.
Plots are virtually non-existent. Each story more or less revolves around people chatting about political matters, which is of no interest to me whatsoever. If it’s not political, it’s just commonplace gossip. In short, it comes across as the author’s way of expressing her opinions through lacklustre characters.
Speaking of characters, there are too many per story for it to be possible to feel any sympathy for any of them, never mind getting to know them. A good short should have two or three main characters, whereas many of these have more than I can care to remember.