Friday Night at Silver Star: Stories

Henley spent three years at a commune in the state of Washington, and many of her short stories are about women who plant beans, load alfalfa onto flatbed trucks and give birth at home with the help of midwives. These natives of the Northwest often become involved with strong, quiet men and play out their troubled lives and loves against a seemingly serene ""natural'' world influenced by the hippie idealism of the late 1960s. Even the stories about maturing young people in small towns are set against a calm Western air. The first piece is perhaps too rich in description, but Henley sharpens her language as she goes along, and by the time the same characters are brought back in the final story, they are more genuine and empathetic. (May)