b aughter of Jerusalem Sara Maitland (Blond and Briggs £4.95) e4) ,
(Alien Positions Susan Isaacs Aden Lane £4.95) The Illusionist Giles Gordon (Harvester Press £4.95) Sarah Maitland is a young author who "as tackled the perplexing topic of the Woman who, in spite of her commitment to the familiar tenets of the women's movement, wants to have a child and Cannot conceive: much of this story of Liz and her ex-gay husband struggling to cement a rocky relationship is mawky in the extreme, but somewhere around there is a courageous and witty writer. who as witty, though, as Susan Isaacs 'no has come up with a winner in this °Utrageous and adept lib daydream about bored Long Island housewife who gets Involved in the murder hunt for the killer of a real Pig of a local dentist whose particular kick was screwing the wives of the successful local men and taking kinky pic turest ures on the side. But leaving aside the w°rtlan's mag aspect of the daydream there are r sub urb truly whippy jokes, lethal sub bluff-calling and New York wisecracking at its careless best. It is what we used to call a good read — as long as you realise that it is all baloney — and also that the well-tried, neurotic, New York, esvLish, liberated housewife is being skilfully and commercially re-routed along \-handleresque tracks. Giles Gordon has a way with words. be examination of endless facets of a scene or a situation by subtle reiteration With fractionally altered accentuation and Phasi s hall-marks his short 'fictions'. In ults collection he deals, as before, with the InYriad different ways in which a situation could, was, is, might be imagined experienced, visualised, sought after, seen Or suffered. But as before with this .author I happen to feel that he is up a uke. ad end alley and disappearing fast into itus own entrails. I admire his experimenation but I find it tough going and I Would like to see him extend his talents ucYond his own navel.
Mary Hope
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