Theme for Diverse Instruments

Fourteen stories deal with a happy lesbian couple, a witness to the capture of a fugitive, a non-conformist family, and a young woman's involvement with a conventional-appearing husband and wife

Imbued with optimism, Rule's accomplished omnibus of 14 tales values individuality; conformity for its own sake is held in low esteem. "My Father's House" limns with an unerring eye the serious whimsy of children at play. Five-year-old Maly learns that boys decide the rules and "that if she was going to be in the picture, she'd have to draw herself in." In "Housekeeper," two women discover how complex and sometimes dark the needs of a friend can be. Perceptions are influenced and reshaped in "A Television Drama," in which a woman observes with interest but without fear a fleeing bank robber apprehended on her street--until TV news cameras and her husband, whose information is secondhand, reinterpret the event for her. In "House," a husband thinks he can find the good life by surrounding himself with the trappings of the middle-aged middle class: mortgaged house, financed car and multiple television sets. But his shrewd wife knows that all one requires is the courage to take chances and make extraordinary mistakes. Rule's work includes After the Fire.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rule has been writing for 25 years, and her themes and characters reflect the concerns and issues of the lesbian community she most often depicts. The movie Desert Hearts, based on her 1964 novel, has turned this popular writer into something of a cult figure. The novel itself was unique at that time for its positive view of lesbian relationships. This work, while not strictly a lesbian collection, maintains that positive view but ranges in the quality of the writing. The title piece hangs rather loosely, while "If There Is No Gate" is very tightly written. "My Country Wrong" rings with authenticity, but the highly touted "Attic of the House" falls through its political fervor. Humor is available in "House," and wry satisfaction in "Mille Children." Rule is at her best with the novel form, but there is certainly quality available in this collection. As a retrospective of a dedicated writer, this work belongs in all lesbian fiction collections.
-Joyce M. Latham, Southern Maryland Regional Lib. Assn., Charlotte Hall
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.