Through Other Eyes: Animal Stories by Women

Alice Walker's brief and compelling opening essay relates her experiences with a neighbor's horse, Blue, and her realization that ``I was shocked that I had forgotten that human animals and nonhuman animals can communicate quite well.'' While these 18 piecessome factual, several fictionalare united by their exploration of the links that bind humans and animals, most are distinguished by unique approaches and focuses. Doris Lessing precisely and masterfully chronicles the degradation and deterioration of an old woman and her cat in modern-day London, while Ursula K. Le Guin presents a bizarre, intriguing collection of mock academic studies on animal linguistics. The works degenerate into cliche when they cover the predictable territory of human sympathy for and guilt about abused animals, such as May Sarton's dying donkey: ``How hot his head was, poor beastie!'' But, chiefly, this omnibus gathers impressive and brave views on a significant topic. Zahava edited The Woman Sleuth Anthology. (Dec.)