Deftly engaging the reader in each story, Beattie once again proves to be a master of unwrapping the puzzlements of human relationships. Her legion of fans will not be disappointed. [See Prepub Alert, 1/4/17.]
This is a fine collection of stories about characters whose failures to connect with others become Beattie's success as she astutely and wittily plumbs the depths of human relations.
In PEN/Bernard Malamud Award winner Beattie's powerfully stark period novella, Jane, a recent 1980s Harvard graduate, recounts her life experiences beginning with her plunge from rural independence to urban life with a much older, married lover...