Snippy conversations, unhappy marriages, disappointing dinner parties, animal infestations; death and its debris. Compared to the earlier stories in Self Help (published 1985), these are denser, richer and more sprawling, with longer stories to tell and less reliant on the sharpness of the lens chosen through which to tell them - although also maybe just a yard less sheerly enjoyable. Best in show is "Dance in America", I think, or is that just that it's amongst the most concise and immediate?
(along the way)
(along the way)
