Treat's tales describe mostly female characters who are not merely unhappy or wistful for love, but who nurse obsessions until their world becomes a delicate balance of fantasy and reality, fragile and distorted. Such forlorn, unanchored characters start to feel disembodied, and after the first few stories it becomes impossible to trust any of them. Honda is Treat writing with sharp-edged precision, letting her narrators descend gradually into delusion as she sits near a playground. He was a good boy. He kept to himself, never bothered anyone.
Backdrops range from European cobblestone boulevards to bland American diners.
Treat has an affinity for faraway locales, but the most exotic terrain remains inside the twisted perceptions of the characters themselves, clearly Treat's trademark. Not a Chance shimmers with smart, poignant prose. But as to whether or not Treat's creations will ever find what they're looking for-the answer's in the title. She received an Artist Fellowship Award in Fiction from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for 2001. Her stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.