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The Circles I Move In: Short Stories - Hardcover

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9780944072417: The Circles I Move In: Short Stories

Synopsis

These sharp-edged, uncompromising, often comic stories take on the daunting complexities of our much afflicted and logic-resistant world. From the multiracial streets of New York City to Mexican villages caught up in social change, here are people of our times in pursuit of human connection. Lefer's unusual range of characters includes a pornographer who wishes to comfort his disillusioned feminist wife; a veteran of the Mexican Revolution who watches a young teacher and her rival - a leftist guerrilla - compete to push their Mixe Indian village into modernity; and a young boy at a family gathering who listens to his relatives reminisce about popular television commercials. Lefer's contemporary characters blunder toward a vision, breaking them free from the limitations of imperfect societies and the too tight borders of their own lives.

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About the Author

Diane Lefer teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College and lives in New York City.

From Kirkus Reviews

One humdrum tale follows another, lulling readers into a somnolent state induced by a writer who's been published in Redbook and Playgirl. The stories can be loosely grouped in two categories: those about minority characters, primarily blacks and Latinos; and those populated by tacky, stupid, white female secretaries. There is some overlap in the title story, which shows one of the secretaries dating a black man who works in the copy center of her building. Like many of its companions in this volume, the tale begins with a cute moment of humor (a jab at Betty Ford alums), then reveals its superficiality as Lefer lapses into overstatement, depicting through a tedious monologue the lame life of a not-so-bright office worker. Readers may hope that at least the Latino characters in stories like ``Huevos,'' ``La Chata,'' ``Vegetable Soup,'' and ``Little Virgins'' will have some soul, but even these portraits are pallid. ``Vegetable Soup'' combines a character study and commentary on political upheaval in an amateur blend whose ingredients refuse to unite amicably. Redbook's pick, ``Huevos,'' is one of the most interesting of the bunch: the saga of a timid Mexican girl who remains in her humble station while the world keeps turning. However, it relies upon straight reportage of action and thought, to the detriment of nuance. ``The Night Life'' and ``Man, Wife, and Deity'' introduce sex and pornography to the collection with their respective portraits of a night-clubbing crotch-grabber and a middle-aged pornographer married to a humanistic city worker. Even the slightly seamy becomes dull and rings false in these two tales. But the most serious problem, which pervades the collection without exception, is that of pacing. Lefer's habit of summarizing situations rather than elaborating on them reduces the action to a Cliff Note and forces characters into their lowest common denominators. Attention-deficit disorder plagues these shallow forgettables. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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  • PublisherZoland Books
  • Publication date1994
  • ISBN 10 0944072410
  • ISBN 13 9780944072417
  • BindingHardcover
  • LanguageEnglish
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages178
  • Rating
    • 4.29 out of 5 stars
      7 ratings by Goodreads

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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Very good in very good dust jacket. SIGNED and inscribed to poet Terra Brigando by author on title page. 1st edition, 1st printing, complete number line. Slight edgewear and a tiny closed tear to dust jacket. Shelfwear to bottoms of the boards. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. Audience: General/trade. Faint foxing to the top of the pageblock. Previous owner's name and date on half-title page. By the author of 'The Blessing Next to the Wound: A Story of Art, Activism, and Transformation' and 'California Transit: Stories'. Signed first printings are uncommon. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a clear protective plastic sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # Alibris.0009731

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