Best English Short Stories 3 - Hardcover

Third volume in an impressive series: 25 stories by English- speaking writers (excluding the US) who represent a remarkable range of magazines, reputations, styles, and subjects. Of those best known in the States, Alice Munro, William Trevor, and A.S. Byatt all live up to their standards of elegance and intelligence in stories about a member of an obscure Presbyterian sect in Canada (``Friend of My Youth''), a petty and profligate Englishman banished to Italy by his ex-wife (``Coffee with Oliver''), and a matronly academic who violently rebels against aging while at the hairdresser's (``Medusa's Ankles''). Margaret Atwood's ``The Age of Lead,'' on the other hand, polemicizes about our deadly, disease-ridden times. Julian Barnes (``Dragons'') and William Boyd (``Cork''), both brilliantly inventive, turn to history for stories about Catholic repression of Protestants in France, and a profile of an obscure and bizarre Portuguese poet. More international in spirit than the average American anthology, this varied gathering offers the quite credible monologue of a privileged Argentinean woman who imagines herself stolen from one of the ``disappeared'' (Michael Dibdin's ``A Death in the Family''); there's also Tracey Lloyd's simple tale of a Greek baker in East Africa (``Sungura''); and James Waddington's Shirley Jacksonish nightmare about eroticism and violence among naturists on a Swedish island (``Glob''). Denise Neuhaus's ``The Card Party'' caricatures life in the American South, while David Mackenzie's ``The Language of Water'' perfectly captures the pared- down American style of stories about men and sport. Many of the lesser-known writers rely on domestic themes for their confidently rendered tales. Divorce figures prominently in Alan Beard's ``Come See About Me'' and Deborah Moggach's ``Changing Babies.'' A darker view of contemporary relationships adds an unusual dimension to Julie Bruchill's excellent ``Baby Love,'' Nadine Gordimer's sarcastic ``A Find,'' Rachel McAlpine's sad little ``Popping Out,'' and the horrifically real ``With Long Thin Fingers,'' by Richard Madelin. An essential annual for short-story lovers. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Third in an annual series, this assemblage of 25 exceptional stories caters to catholic tastes, eschewing the cryptic or minimalist in favor of well-rounded narratives. Drawing from stories from all English-speaking countries save the U.S., the editors feature many prominent writers, whose works here amply demonstrate their talents. Among these are Nadine Gordimer (her tale, "A Find," stands out even in this company), Alice Munro, Julian Barnes, Rose Tremain and William Trevor. Michael Dibdin's "A Death in the Family," about an Argentinian woman certain that her well-off parents had obtained her via the brutal tactics of the so-called dirty war, reaches another high mark. Newcomer James Waddington offers the startling "Glob," in which "civilized" people on a secluded island shed not only their clothes but their morals; but on the whole the editors' selections of lesser-known authors reveal a penchant for rather too tidy construction. The non-U.S. limitation seems arbitrary, especially as several stories were first published in American magazines, and the omissions are strange--not a single Australian is represented--but the collection itself possesses a rare degree of strength. Introduction not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.