cover image When California Was an Island: Short Stories

When California Was an Island: Short Stories

Barbara Haas. Story Line Press, $8 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-934257-10-7

The title story of this collection describes the friendship between an airline stewardess and an engineer who believes that California was once an island and predicts earthquakes that do not occur but are nonetheless experienced on a metaphorical level by the characters. In ""The Green Life,'' Maizie has a priestly dedication to an idea and enshrines her beloved in a temple constructed in fantasy. In ``Princess Gilda Talks to the Unborn,'' a couple speculates on the relationship of personal destiny, biological cycles and lunar phases, and major choices in their lives are prompted by the appearance of mystical writing on postcards. In each of these stories, Haas seems to be saying that the depths of the heart and the workings of destiny are unfathomableas a result, in this book human understanding and empathy revert to a kind of mysterious and cosmic sympathy. This idealization and mystification are unfortunate, all the more because Haas is a talented writer who offers vivid descriptions of California characters and topography. (March)