Going to See the Leaves

These are impressively forceful storieseight strong pieces that leave one eager for more fiction from Collins. With uncommon skill, she manages to hurl the reader smack into the center of diverse situations. Collins has a knack for portraying the simultaneous fulfillment and disappointment of love relationships: husband-wife, parent-child. Her story lines range from the ordinary (a husband a wife arrive at their Vermont weekend home to find that the pipes have frozen: so have the emotional bonds of their marriage. Another couple has a near-accident on the highway en route home from a family funeral) to the extraordinary (a New York attorney discovers he is pregnant and gives birth to a son). Some of the tales are quietly devastating, demonstrating how those who are closest to one can seem like the coldest strangers. This is a wonderful collection. (March 18)