a masterfully crafted novel told in short story form. it reminded me so much of alice munroe's 'who do you think you are?', which was first time i'd read a collection where the characters were interwoven in different stories. that book, read decades ago, was relevant to my young-adult life, and this book (read as i look forward to menopause) was even more relevant. i sometimes think short stories are the Aesop's Fables of today: one quick lesson after another.
i think, if margaret lawrence had lived long enough and tried her hand at short stories, this is what she would have come up with. a modern hagar, told in multiple perspectives.