From Publishers Weekly
Taking its name from one of Chekov's stories, this collection of short fiction is memorable for its vividly drawn characters and oddball situations. Among the best of the 17 stories are those with touches of the fantastic. In "Chat," a blue-eyed black cat startles his new owner by commenting on the food. "Samaritan" introduces a fake therapist who spends his days in a drug-induced euphoria, listening to the complaints of his only patient. The therapist ends his patient's problems, finally, by putting a bullet in his forehead. Violence figures in several of the stories. In "Beach," nervous would-be adulterers, swimming nude at night, are terrified by strange men on the shore. In the less successful stories Barthelme uses non sequiturs and snatches of meaningless overheard conversations, which detract from the narrative rather than enforce the realism he pursues. In all, though, this is an entertaining and often memorable collection.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A vibrant world of freeways and rattlesnakes, bartenders and rapists opens for view in this intriguing first collection of short stories. Set in the southwest, the wry and intimate texts give us characters all searching to salve a sometimes ill-defined uneasiness. An adulterous couple bobs naked in the surf as two boys burn their clothes on the beach. An old woman champions life with green grass and a Big Mac. As Bobby says in "Zorro," "Nobody ever fixes anything. Nobody ever ruins anything. Patching is what I do." And lives are patched together here with dreams of California, new affairs, and old British sports cars. An auspicious debut.Paul E. Hutchison, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
