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The short story remains alive and well, thank you very much, although you wouldn't recognize that fact by leafing through magazines at your favorite newsstand or book store. Three new collections of short stories all offer rewards to their readers.
Perhaps the best tale in this engrossing assemblage is "Prints," which won the 1997 Story magazine short short contest. In it, Davis captures the horrors of a woman who recalls the mysterious disappearance of her older sister, realizing that this tragedy was more than she had been willing to accept. Another stunner is "Faith, or Tips for the Successful Young Lady," which describes the return of a teenage girl to high school after a suicide attempt and stay at a psychiatric hospital. She has lost 58 pounds during her absence, but remains haunted by the image of the fat girl only she can still see. It will be interesting to see how Davis takes her impressive talent into the realm of the full-length novel. Amanda Davis is a talent to remember and watch for. ANOTHER TALENT Bliss Broyard is the daughter of the late Anatole Broyard, who was one of the best literary critics ever employed by The New York Times. His death from cancer a few years ago robbed us of a brilliant wordsmith. Miss Broyard makes her debut with a collection of short stories called My Father, Dancing (Alfred A. Knopf, $22). The title story, apparently based on actual events, deals with a daughter and her confronting the fact of the impending death of her father. In just under a dozen pages, Broyard captures the feelings of memory and loss with a tone that's just right, and which may elicit a tear in the eye of the reader. Alas, not all the other stories manage to achieve such an impact. It's one of those books that you'll enjoy while turning its pages, but which may disappear from your memory banks as soon as you stick it back into the book shelf. NEWCOMERS IMPRESS It's tough finding a market for short stories. The mass market magazines aren't interested in quality fiction, aiming for what seems like the lowest common denominator. The literary magazines usually have minuscule circulation figures, which assumes few people other than your close relatives will see your work. Go To Page: 1 2
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