From Publishers Weekly
Once again Tallent ( Time with Children ; Museum Pieces ) shows a razor-sharp eye for telling domestic details and an uncanny sense of the minute shifts of emotion that can make or break a marriage or an affair. Most of the nine stories in this collection are in fact studies of marriage or of parents and children, and because Tallent launches them rather elliptically, sometimes they are somewhat slow to fully engage the reader. They almost invariably do so, however, and the rewards are well worth the effort. In "Earth to Molly, " an American poet goes to a reading in a Welsh industrial town, and her desperate attachment to her host enriches her return home. In "Get It Back for Me," a child is an enthralled observer of a spectacular but routine family fight and its aftermath. "James Was Here" is a riveting day in the life of a man visiting two women now out of his life, wondering if he can create a new sense of himself by carrying a gun in his pocket; its resolution, like most of Tallent's endings, is mesmerically right and satisfying. "The Minute I Saw You" is a delightful portrait of a teenager in love with love and in California for the first time, which captures the seductive daffiness of Los Angeles to perfection. Tallent's evocation of place is extraordinary, whether summoning the New Mexico settings of most of the stories, or the harsh glitter of Ciudad Juarez in the story of that name. These are fully realized tales that each hint at the depth and complexity of a novel.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Library Journal
"If only I could keep my mind on the aims in my heart," laments the Hopi song that serves as the epigraph to these accomplished short stories by Tallent ( Time with Children, LJ 10/15/87). Situated mainly in the states of New Mexico and California, the narratives capture moments of obsession in the lives of characters who have been hovering on the edge of heartbreak. In two of the stories, "Kid Gentle" and "Get It Back for Me," the gestures are broad: one woman sublimates her grief by making a grand purchase; another forces a confrontation by pitching her wedding ring out into the night. More intimate, if revelatory, moments punctuate three related tales (including the title story), which depict the uneasy members of a family that has been "blended." All nine pieces in this collection chart memorably the often wayward course of contemporary marriage in America. Recommended for general collections.
- Starr E. Smith, Fairfax Cty. P.L., Va.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
