Midair
The eight stories in this collection present characters caught up in situations from which they seem incapable of extricating themselves: unhappy marriages, unsatisfying careers, unresolved conflicts between parents and children. In some of the stories, the protagonists are able to achieve a greater sense of self through drawing closer to those dearest to them; in other stories they remain alienated from those around them. The impact of the stories is heightened by the sequence chosen, as when in ``The Mysterious Case of R'' the psychiatrist's observations about his writer patient offer insight into a character in the story ``Roses.'' ``Midair'' and ``The Sense of Meeting,'' the opening and closing stories, are particularly effective. Recommended. Michael J. Esposito, formerly with Special Libraries Assn., New YorkCopyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.