Lost Weddings

In her second novel, the author, whose popular, spare works re-create the insular world of rural Bavaria, focuses on four unmarried women whose stories span the years from the beginning of this century to just after WW II--years that see great economic change but little enlightenment toward social mores. Each of these spinsters tries to carve a life for herself outside of convention and is brutally undermined by family and friends--their harshest critics being married women. Babette, sacrificing her childhood to raise her brother, falls in love with unsuitable men. Helene is groomed to lead her dead sister's life, to tragic effect. Klara, the most shallowly portrayed, is sexually frigid; she is also the most successful in ordering her life. Martha, the spoiled, sweet-tempered daughter of a factory owner, lives recklessly until a life of heavy drinking and endless parties catches up with her. Reminiscent of stories by the Brothers Grimm, these tragic modern folk tales, with their terse, telescopic vision, are best read and savored separately. (May)