The Assignation: Stories

Joyce Carol Oates. Harper Perennial, $11 (195pp) ISBN 978-0-06-097246-2

In 44 short narratives, ``Oates has captured precisely an essential presence and instant in the lives of her characters,'' commented PW. `` Logical as daydreams, with endings similarly as interrupted or unforeseen, these stories reveal a master of the form, writing at her efficient, full-tilt best .'' (Sept.)

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