Stories in an Almost Classical Mode

These 17 short stories represent the best of Brodkey's work over three decades.From the Trade Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyThese 18 stories "are freighted with a magnificence of language that reveals Brodkey's singular ability to convey the truth and complexity of a moment in time, frequently as seen through the eyes of a child," found PW , noting the delicacy and sadness of the "exquisitely rendered narratives." Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalSince 1958, when he published a book of short stories called First Love and Other Sorrows , Brodkey has become something of a mystery man. The present volume collects, in chronological order, magazine work of the past three decades. The stories are "classical" only in the sense that they avoid trendy experimentation: there isn't a trace of minimalism, metaficiton, or magic realism. Brodkey's subject is the Sturm und Drang of human relationships, especially sexual relationships. Acutely sensitive, intensely analytical, he writes with "the authority of being on one's knees in front of the event" (to quote one of his characters). No matter what the situation, the narrative voice is invariably eloquent and intelligenttoo much so, at times. An important book, but one best sampled in small doses. Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los AngelesCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.