Stories from the Warm Zone - Hardcover

The Australian author's short-story collection maintains the high standards set by her novels Tirra Lirra by the River and The Only Daughter. In two sections, the entries begin with Anderson's only slightly fictionalized adventures as a child called Bea, growing up in Brisbane's rough country three decades ago. Occasions fresh in her memory prompt Anderson's recollections of the home where older siblings loved and cared for Bea but also ordered her about. The second section contains original stories inspired by the author's experiences as an adult resident in Sydney. A keen observer of human beings, Anderson infuses her characters with life and, in an admirably understated style, arouses the reader's deep concern for them. "The Late Sunlight" puts Gordon Harbage on a park bench beside a bitter, hate-filled Viennese countess who rejects her son because of his marriage to a "common" woman. Gordon is drawn into an uneasy situation when the countess tries to give him a costly gift before she dies, resulting in a startling scene. All the stories are unforgettable. (November
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Dividing her slim volume into two sections, Australian Anderson unintentionally creates an incongruent patchiness. "Warm Zone," described as "autobiographical fiction," has minimal vigor and narrative momentum. "Sydney Stories" includes the unconvincing "The Milk" and "The Late Sunlight" as well as "Outdoor Friends," in which Anderson too apparently searches for an ending to an adulterous affair, ineffectively terminated deus ex machina . Unlike Sherwood Anderson, whose autobiographical fiction was successful, this Anderson is seemingly unable to distance herself from her childhood. Overall, a disappointing patchwork. Glenn O. Carey, Eastern Kentucky Univ., Richmond
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.