Little Labors

Galchen (Atmospheric Disturbances) brings both humor and serious inquiry to this collection of short vignettes about the curious nature of babies and the experience of becoming a mother. Her infant daughter, whom she nicknames “the puma,” a “near mute force,” imbues Galchen’s life with renewed enchantment: “So that the world seemed ludicrously, suspiciously, adverbially sodden with meaning. Which is to say that the puma again made me more like a writer.” Referencing the Japanese classic The Pillow Book, the musings of an 11th-century court lady, Galchen observes the prosaic everyday of her own life in order to uncover the wonder behind it. She also contemplates the limitations and assumptions forced on female writers of the past, such as Jane Bowles and Patricia Highsmith. Galchen includes a trove of cultural references, from television (Louie, I Love Lucy) to literature (Beloved, Anna Karenina), drawing observations from their varying representations of babies. Among her observations: Godzilla is “child-like,” and paintings of the baby Jesus have seldom borne much resemblance to actual infants.She also deconstructs strangers’ compliments on how nicely shaped her daughter’s head is. Each literary morsel is imbued with Galchen’s unique wit and charm. The book is an endearing compilation of social criticism, variously contentious, commonplace, funny, and incisive. (May)