Martin, Wendy, ed. More stories we tell; the best contemporary short stories by North American women

Kliatt, Sept, 2004 by Patricia Moore

MARTIN, Wendy, ed. More stories we tell; the best contemporary short stories by North American women. Random House, Pantheon. 362p. c2004. 0-375-71450-2. $15.00. SA

A follow-up to We are the Stories We Tell (1990), this volume seeks to gather "representative narratives that are a pleasure to read and that portray women's experiences in the final decades of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first." While a few of the 24 stories date from the 1970s and '80s, most are stories from the '90s by such well-known writers as Margaret Atwood, Sandra Cisneros, Gish Jen, Bobble Ann Mason, and Louise Erdrich. The stories average about ten pages in length, but are nonetheless powerful for their brevity. While there are no surprises here, the richness and the range of the collection make this a valuable anthology. Short literary biographies of the authors follow the stories.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.

Patricia Moore, Brookline, MA