Ruane, Elizabeth Helen ; Dr. John Kessel, Committee Chair,Dr. Steven B. Katz, Committee Member,Dr. Patricia Lynne, Committee Member,Ruane, Elizabeth Helen ; Dr. John Kessel ; Committee Chair ; Dr. Steven B. Katz ; Committee Member ; Dr. Patricia Lynne ; Committee Member
A collection of short stories allows a writer certain freedoms that the novel form does not.It enables the writer to explore different ideas of form, content, and voice in a limited amount of space, looking at small slices of life that should hopefully add up to more than the sum of its parts.As such, this collection of stories attempts a variety of structures and styles.The view points range between first person to third person, and the main characters vary in gender and age, letting the voices of an 13 year old country girl in "What You Can't Leave Behind," and a man in his early 30's living in the city in "The Sun and Death" stand next to each other, among others. These stories are most simply connected through the idea of exploring the way people relate to one another, and especially how families interact, in this often chaotic world.