It's set not in one of the heartbreak villages but at a fashionable dinner party in Dublin, with a large cast of characters playing off one another in major and minor keys. The final one in the book, it's a noisy last blast when all the fireworks go off together.
The story that gives the collection its name is a tour de force. Her words capture these glimpses of life and present them like flies caught in amber. O'Brien is a wonderfully sharp editor of her lantern slides, presenting a series of vignettes that spotlight a character or a family, an incident, a mood, jagged reflections. The title of O'Brien's latest collection of short stories has a period ring, echoing the tenor of life in villages that are backwaters, where depressed times seem to have left permanent gray shadows and clouded skies. It's one in which, at the very least, her womenfolk often are the gritty survivors. That's how she sees it and tells it _ mostly from the woman's point of view, but don't pity the women too much. The world according to Edna O'Brien is a hard one.
LANTERN SLIDES (Farrar Straus Giroux, $18.95 hardcover), by Edna O'Brien. White's next book would be an improvement if he overlooked the stock characters we see in so many other mysteries and relied more on what he has seen with his own eyes. The book ultimately suffers when the plot twists too many times to be believable. Among them: the government agent who comes out of retirement for one more mission the sexy woman who wins a divorce case by wooing a judge corrupt Southern lawmen and greedy Florida developers. In telling this tale, White relies on too many worn-out devices. He sets out on a desperate journey to Central America to rescue his friend's son.
The plot centers around "Doc" Ford, who finds a high school buddy murdered near Sanibel Island. "Publishers Weekly"Ī promising debut from another Floridian who can turn a phrase.But they may be disappointed in his story line. first appearance of intelligent, likable Doc Ford will leave readers hoping to see him again. He describes southwestern Florida so well it's easy to smell the salt tang in the air and feel the cool gulf breeze. This is a book that's got everything and then some. He's the best new writer we've encountered since Carl Hiassen. "A promising debut from another Floridian who can turn a phrase." -"Booklist"Ī major new talent.hits the ground running.a virtually perfect piece of work. " first appearance of intelligent, likable Doc Ford will leave readers hoping to see him again." -"Publishers Weekly" "He describes southwestern Florida so well it's easy to smell the salt tang in the air and feel the cool gulf breeze." -"Mansfield News Journal" This is a book that's got everything and then some." -"Denver Post" "A major new talent.hits the ground running.a virtually perfect piece of work.
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