Bright, eclectic and wryly amusing are Clare Boylan's short stories. She has been writing fiction for over 20 years, but this is the first time her stories have been collected in one volume. Human relationships aren't easy, especially if you're on the edge of what passes for normality. She focuses on the dispossessed, the slightly off-beat, those desperately seeking attention. "Housekeeper's Cut" is set in London and is one of those heart-breaking scenarios involving misconceptions. A married woman having an affair is in London to see the bright lights. Her lover craves a taste of the domesticity she is escaping. Ne'er the two do meet emotionally - except in bed. "The Wronged Wife" confronts wife Mark One with Mark Two. Hubby in the middle is so naive as to be pathetic, but the dinner he organises
finally gives the second wife her chance to come out of the shadows. Culinary matters feature widely. Beginnings are good. "Ten Hail Marys and he'll phone," starts off "Thatcher's Britain" while in "You Don't Know You're Alive", "Annie lived downstairs in the kitchen with the wireless and the Sacred Heart". There's a poignancy throughout, with the ghosts of their lives stalking two old men in "To Tempt a Woman". Some of the 38 stories have already been filmed. It's a tribute to their visual appeal.
- Mary Moloney