Living on the Edge: Fiction by Peace Corps Writers

Seventeen authors--some celebrated--who served in the Peace Corps at various times over the last three decades offer, in these unusual, enlightening tales, a startling look into the mostly Third World locales they grew to know. The authors' backgrounds and subject matter varies widely, though the themes most often converge in the clash between Western and native cultural ways. Paul Theroux, who served in Malawi in 1963, starts off the collection with the magnificently taut ""White Lies,"" about a horrific parasitic rash set upon a philandering foreigner by his scorned African lover. Technical writer Leslie Simmonds Ekstom's (Nigeria, 1963-65) ""On Sunday There Might Be Americans"" is a powerfully imagined narrative about an aboriginal boy's scrounging for subsistence in the shadow of rich white interlopers. Marnie Mueller (Ecuador, 1963-65), an NBA winner for her novel Green Fires, explores in her story ""Exile"" the possibility of cross-cultural romance between an exiled Argentine writer and an American political activist living in Mexico City. Each short fiction is introduced by the author's explanation, ""How I Came to Write This Story,"" often based on true experience or impression, followed by a brief biography. While these details are interesting, at times they may dilute the enjoyment of the stories as vivid creations in their own right. Other authors represented include editor Coyne (Ethiopia, 1962-64), who founded a newsletter for and about Peace Corps writers, and novelist Norman Rush (Botswana, 1978-1993). (Apr.)