From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Hall's novels ( Tropical Freeze ) and poetry ( False Statements ) will have mixed reactions to the stories in this uneven collection. Writing for the most part about the alienated--teenagers, writers, drifters, an aged widow--Hall displays a light, sure touch with characterization that preserves idiosyncrasy while stopping short of caricature. The best tales are about adolescent boys. In "Survival Week" 17-year-old Connors spends the ritual final week of his last summer at camp not by himself in the woods but with another camper and a family that includes two teenaged girls. "Miami Beach, Kentucky" tells of a boy's conflicts with a powerful father, a mayor who wants to change his town's name from Sinking Fork to Miami Beach, and a mother who is principal of the boy's high school. More heavy-handed (and bitter) are the stories about poets. In "The Electric Poet" the eponymous hero colludes with the Famous Director of the Famous Writers Conference; "Poetic Devices" is told by a naive emigre poet. Though evocative of place, these works don't reflect the power evident in Hall's novels.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
