by Elizabeth Tippens ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1996
Nine colorful interrelated stories tracking the romantic ups and downs of Faith, a Generation X-er on the verge of 30, and the three men she's attracted to. In ""Perfume,"" Faith is a twentysomething aspiring actress, just arrived in New York and working as a perfume spritzer in Bloomingdale's, when she meets a married man and flies to Cannes with him. She comes back early and alone, however, having seen that, for her, using even a little bit of the arts of the hookers she's encountered in Cannes is too much. In ""Likewise,"" Faith and the same man, Lenny, now divorced and Faith's boyfriend, argue loudly in an art-print shop about Lenny's lack of commitment and his other women, and are thrown out. In ""Fireflies,"" Faith hears from Lenny on a steamy summer afternoon, six months after they've broken up, and is tempted to take him back but instead impulsively pursues a boy she's run into from her hometown in Virginia. The next three tales, ""Ornithology,"" ""Faith"" and ""Winging It,"" cast an oblique, interesting light on Faith's decision to give up both Lenny, who keeps trying to woo her back without promising to be faithful, and Sandy, the hapless Virginia boy who, it turns out, has moved to New York not to study ornithology at Columbia, as he had told her, but to track down Faith, whom he's loved obsessively since childhood. He wins her briefly but can't hold on to her. The last trio of stories, which bring Faith to the threshold of marriage with an endearing X-er lawyer from Philadelphia named James, are enlivened by Tippens's sympathetic portraits of her male characters, including, in the final piece (""Back from the World""), poor Sandy, who's gone home to become his town's official handyman and resident eccentric. He's a surprisingly poignant and memorable character in a very personable and surprisingly moving collection. Impressive work from a promising new writer.
Pub Date: May 1, 1996
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Riverhead/Putnam
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996
Categories: FICTION
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