THE BROAD BACK OF THE ANGEL

by Leon Rooke ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1977

Leon Rooke spills out a whole array of current fictional modes and techniques in these stories, and you take your pick--but what good is the cornucopia if the produce isn't really fresh? Do you want naturalistic marital jousting set in academia: bitchy, conscious, labored? Pick up ""No Whistle Slow."" Feel like some metaphorical prose dense enough to chew? A series of arch pieces called ""The Magician in Love"" will do. Mexican stories, dripping with atmosphere, desuetude, and weirdos?--""For Love of Madeline"" and ""For Love of Eleanor."" And, for allegory on women's lib, comic-book style, ""Iron Woman"" is offered. Rooke's step is firmest inside the vignette, especially the portrayal of sadsacks in a brace of stories called ""Friendship and Libation"" and ""Friendship and Rejuvenation,"" but scattered focus and oomphlessness dilute even these. Stitched together, these stories resemble dollies--elaborate, thought-out, styled--but lacking a strength of material that might have made them more than decorative.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Fiction Collective-dist. by Braziller

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1977

Categories: FICTION