Clothed, Female Figure

The debut short story collection by National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree Allio (Garner) presents eloquent and sophisticated investigations into the complex relationships between mothers and daughters. Allio's characters often suffer great losses, as in "Millennium," in which a young woman makes an abrupt move to New York City after the death of her mother, and "Still Life," a portrait of a wife and mother who is left reeling after the mysterious suicide of a close friend. Another story, the lovely "Quetzal," examines the inner life of an alcoholic academic whose mother abandoned her at age 11. Many of the stories hinge on the revelation of a secret, such as when the narrator of "The Other Woman" learns about a long-ago deception on behalf of her mother, or when the Russian %C3%A9migr%C3%A9 narrator of the beautiful and exceptionally moving title story, having worked a lifetime as a nanny, finally faces painful truths about her familial past after receiving a series of letters from a former charge. The women populating this collection are often confined to small, domestic spaces, which Allio describes with great intimacy and perfectly chosen details. These stories are sometimes deceptively slow to reveal their true subjects, as in "Charm Circle," when the perspective shifts from mother to daughter halfway through the story to surprising effect. Taken as a whole, the collection paints a panoramic portrait of the bonds between mothers and daughters, the complicated fierceness of their love, and the anguish and confusion that accompanies loss. (Aug.)