"How deftly Calisher has made use of the (novella) form. The tales gathered here demonstrate many of Calisher's virtues as a writer: her ability to capture odd, disturbing characters (Dr. Bhatta, in
Tale for the Mirror); her sensitive and often quite original exploration of the struggle of modern women for an independent identity
(The Railway Police); her bemused exploration of the half-submerged American ideas of class
(Extreme Magic); and her rather harsh but convincing portraits of marriage
(Saratoga, Hot). Varied, precise work by a writer deserving more attention."
--Kirkus Reviews
From the Author's Preface:
"The novella can take on any of the novel's roles. It has but one departure--one that can make it unique. It is not merely a shorter novel, of less wordage than commonly. It is a small one, tenaciously complete."
"For the sheer reading pleaure and challenge of dazzling writing, this collection is a winner."
--Publisher's Weekly
"When American writing of the twentieth century is summed up--perhaps in the twenty-first--Hortense Calisher will be seen to stand vividly with Cather and Fitzgerald. In the meantime, even before the Long Perspective, the body of her work (and the perfection of her prose) is here to complicate, enlighten, startle, and delight us."
--Cynthia Ozick
On
Tale for the Mirror:
"Precision and imagination have one of their rare conjunctions in her work. The precision is of language. The author's fine imagination is for people."
--Time
On
Extreme Magic:
"...an immaculate stylist, a precisionist of the utmost rigor, and an arresting phrase-maker."
--Saturday Review
"In
The Railway Police she made a well-nigh perfect synthesis of symbol, language, narrative and theme."
--New York Times Book Review
"
The Last Trolley Ride is one of her most interestingly conceived novellas, and has the
virtue of being written in clear, straightforward prose."
--The Nation
"In
The Man Who Spat Silver, the most experimental of these tales, she makes language itself the key to unlocking a shifting, hypnotic narrative of love and obsession."
--The New York Times Book Review
"
Women Men Don't Talk About offers an amusing composite portrait of an Irish-American family transplanted to Southern California."
--The Nation
"
Saratoga, Hot, set at and around the Saratoga racetrack, memorably explores the conflicting passions of touts, gamblers, jockeys and aficionados caught up in this colorful pastime, and shows Calisher's ability to enter an unconventional fictional world and render it unforgettably."
--The Washington Post Book World
