Customer Reviews

A Private State (Awp Award for Short Fiction)

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Like E. Annie Proulx, Charlotte Bacon's writing is fresh and compelling, sprinkled liberally with incandescent imagery. Like Cheever, seemingly small events, like a weekend in the country, a troubling discovery made by a daughter in her father's apartment, or a whale-watching trip, all mark tidal points in the lives of her characters. With nary a false note, this young writer carries us through the lives of men and women facing the end of marriage, the beginning of a pregnancy, the repercussions of the loss of a job on a wealthy family. Such grace and assured prose is rare in young writers, and I'm already waiting for her next. An excellent collection of stories (and prize-winning, too, if you check the book jacket).

All our old elusive friends from English Class -- Psychological Depth, Moral Complexity, Wit (sparkling of course), Astute Observation, Lucidity and Grace -- are evident in these fine tales of women sliding into nuances of awareness they never sought and perhaps wouldn't have welcomed. Reminiscent of Cheever, yes; but also Chekhov and (at their very best) Ann Beattie and Alice Munro. Rather impressive stuff.