THE COLLECTED STORIES

In one volume: the contents of The Admiral and the Nuns (Scribner, 1962), Fingers in the Door (Scribner, 1970), and Live Bait (Holt, 1979)--all of the short stories published, in fact, by British novelist Tuohy (The Ice Saints, The Animal Game). The theme in many of the stories, as in all of the novels, is out-of-placeness, foreignness--being the odd man out in an alien environment. There are culture-clashes, class conflicts, evocations of anxiety and displacement--all delivered in a style that is spare, dry, ironic, occasionally sour or bitter. And much of the work reflects Tuohy's years as an Englishman abroad--teaching in Finland, Brazil, Poland, and (as made clear in Live Bait) Tokyo. Fine, precise, limited yet effective storytelling--in a welcome compilation.