Polaris
And Other Stories
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Fay Weldon journeys to the wilds of Scotland and far-off Tasmania in these twelve tales of sexual politics and marital and political warfare
In "Christmas Lists—A Seasonal Story," the endless lists created by a suburban couple become a metaphor for marriage, family, and enduring love. In "Delights of France or Horrors of the Road," a woman goes to a psychiatrist to cure her sudden, inexplicable paralysis, unaware that her constant bragging about her brilliant physicist husband conceals a raging fury. "Redundant! or the Wife's Revenge" takes place in a plastic surgery ward, where Fay Weldon finds an ironic humor. The title story introduces newlyweds Meg and Timmy, whose union is tested when Timmy is called away to naval duty and Meg discovers a shocking secret.
By turns funny, tragic, macabre, and bittersweet, Polaris is a collection of masterworks by one of our most incisive authors.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British novelist Weldon ( The Hearts and Lives of Men ) here continues her monologues on the oppression of Woman; even when her characters converse, there is little or no interaction. ``It's the women's movement that's done it. All those assertive women going about!'' one female character tells another, explaining male impotence. And her interlocutor replies that she also is not assertive, but ``a traditional woman.'' This work, ``Christmas Lists--A Seasonal Story,'' and several others, including the title piece, portray the downfall of such earnest, old-fashioned women with compassion and perspicacity. Other tales, such as ``And Then Turn out the Light,'' begin with a particular conceit (``In Newcastle, New South Wales, they have the highest hysterectomy rate in the entire world'') that quickly becomes strained. For Weldon, the ``Great War'' is not WW I, but occurred ``in the fifties, when women were at war with women.'' Despite some excellent writing, these variations on a theme lose their luster as Weldon's typically arch humor wears thin with repetition.
