Abstract

The stories in this collection are filtered through the perspectives of women, all in their early through late twenties, and all of whom suffer in varying degrees from estrangement and anomie. Language often proves insufficient, with a consequent breakdown in communication. That which remains unsaid becomes the impetus behind action. Yet communication, however inadequate, allows the women in particular in these stories to develop an intimacy with one another that both consoles and drives the story. Time is often fractured, temporarily held at bay. Typical measures of time are absent from the characters, lives. Many of the characters have left the city, have left "home", for more rural and unfamiliar settings. Implicit in this move is the idea that characters in fact lack a sense of "home". This is true in varying degrees from story to story. This relocation represents a retreat from the familiar rather than a movement towards the unfamiliar. Reiterated in this movement is the degree of dislocation felt by the characters and the attempt, however temporary or unintended, to escape the self.