Journal Entry 1 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Received in box of books from family member.

Different cover art.

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From Publishers Weekly
With authenticity, insight, sensitivity and an unobstrusive yet absorbing prose style, Smiley (Duplicate Keys portrays pained individuals who yearn for idyllic companionship, plus the contentment and security that they imagine it entails. In "The Pleasure of Her Company," one of five short stories, a lonely pediatric nurse establishes a rapport with her new neighbors. Convinced that married couples share an inviolable, almost mystical bond that outsiders cannot fathom, she makes the unwelcome discovery that their apparent harmony is a facade. "Lily" is the tale of a love-hungry young poet whose bickering married friends arrive for a visit; Lily boldly hastens their break-up. In "Dynamite," a former Barnard College radical still wanted by the FBI impulsively heads back to New York for the reassuring presence of her family. The novella from which this slim volume takes its title brilliantly shows a husband's agony when his wife's affection turns elsewhere. During a crisis over her infidelity, he emerges as an unforgettably valiant character: vulnerable, hurt, bewildered, though never without patience. This novella's quietly dramatic resolution is both appropriate and rewarding.

Reserved for ransom.
 

Journal Entry 2 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Sunday, May 13, 2007

This was an extremely depressing set of stories. The stories, told from a variety of perspectives, all deal in some way with the disintegration of once happy marriages. None fall apart from any particular tragedy or trial -- instead they just collapse under the weight of time and family. The despair of the characters pulses through the stories and strikes the reader right in the heart. The power of the author is clear, but don't read this while feeling depressed -- it'll knock the life right out of you.

I'm glad to have read this, but definitely need an uplifting counterweight now.

This will be mailed to ramsom this week, who picked it during the Anthology and Shorts Swap at Book Obsessed. 

Journal Entry 3 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Monday, May 21, 2007

A little slow to get to the post office. This went in the mail this afternoon. 

Journal Entry 4 by ramson from New Orleans, Louisiana USA on Friday, June 01, 2007

Came in the mail while I was on vacation. Thanks for sharing!