Stealing Time

Capturing extraordinary moments in the lives of ordinary people, this collection of stories by the author of Left to Themselves includes "Mommy and Doris," about an older woman who reflects on the lives of customers at McDonalds. 10,000 first printing.

Time preys on the (mostly) female protagonists of these 14 carefully wrought and quietly breathtaking stories, many of which first appeared in the New Yorker . Grimm ( Left to Themselves ) catalogues with subtlety the daily acts, petty and precious, that women are consumed by but through which, paradoxically, they fulfill themselves. Gleeful college girls in "Research" gather lists of the "guys" with whom they might lose their virginity, but for the narrator the moment of loss is a lyrical glimpse of inevitability and impersonality, as if she were caught up in a musical phrase. The superbly understated "We" tells of three women, glowing in their young marriages and maternal tasks, rising up at night "into sleep and dreams, as light as birds." After this domestic phase quickly passes, they look back at it wonderingly. The narrator of "Interview with My Mother" prods her bedridden parent for old memories and struggles to see how the trivia adds up. In "The Life of the Body," jilted Kate feels robbed when her old lover, a husky red-haired poet, flagrantly expropriates her own grief in his verse. In the harrowing "Bring Back the Dead," Karen waits out the "stiff time" for word of Jenny, her vanished 12-year-old daughter. And, poignantly, it is love stories that keep death at bay in "True Stories"; they are "like a gun . . . trained on the future."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A novelist's debut volume of short stories, 14 in all, many having first appeared in the New Yorker. Grimm's first novel Left to Themselves (1993) told of emotionally inept, blue-collar Ohio characters and tended to drift in the same hopeless depression as its cast. The stories in Stealing Time show Grimm in better form, although her soft endings may well satisfy only herself. Perhaps the best of the lot is the National Magazine Award-winning ``We,'' a true knockout about three young Ohio women, their early marriages, their children, and their first decade as adults; their emotions settle like rust and their expectations lower with new sewing machines, Tupperware parties, recipe trading, book clubs, parties, illnesses, and aging husbands. ``Bring Back the Dead'' also has a strong storyline: a psychic mother, while trying to locate her kidnapped daughter, drives off her husband, boxes junk food in a Dunkin' Donuts, and goes through psychic rituals. In ``We Who Are Young'' a pair of sisters visit their 81-year-old aunt on a sultry midsummer day, and the aunt makes clear to them the special qualities of sisterhood. In the title story, the same sisters, now losing their own grip on the past, visit another aunt with Alzheimer's who has lost much more than they have (this one ends weirdly). The lively ``Research'' tells of a college sophomore's desire to dispense with her virginity, even though her roommates don't go that far in their sex play; success has a small payoff. ``Book of Dreams'' and ``Teenagers Living in Cleveland'' are drowsy coming-of-age tales. Movingly detailed stories, but one must strain to remember many of them even an hour after reading. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From the author of Left to Themselves ( LJ 1/93) comes an uneven collection of 14 short stories. Many of the stories are truly outstanding. "We" chronicles the lives of three young mothers who try to fill the void in their marriages and eventually come to terms with themselves. "Mommy and Doris" takes place in a McDonald's, where an astute older woman observes the actions of a young family. "Buying a Pumpkin" is the poignant tale of a father caring for his three children after his wife has left him. "Research" evokes a bygone era, which features a teenage girl determined to lose her virginity. Finally, "Bring Back the Dead" is the harrowing story of a mother whose daughter has been missing and is found dead. Unfortunately, not all of the stories are of the same high quality. Some are slim and relatively insubstantial. Overall, however, this is a pleasant collection. Recommended for public libraries.
- Stephanie Furtsch, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.