From Publishers Weekly
Emshwiller's ( Carmen Dog ) exotic worlds are like carnival mirrors that distort our perceptions, letting us see ourselves in new, wise ways. Animals and aliens in these 18 stories embody the fears and hopes of disenfranchised women and attachment-wary men. In the title story, cat-loathing aliens plan to take over Earth, enlisting the aid of a middle-aged divorcee. She agrees to marry one of them, musing that "sometimes one has to make do (we older women do, anyway) with the peculiar, the alien or the partly alien, the egocentric, the disgruntled, the dissipated. . . . " Many of the stories have a feminist slant, but Emshwiller portrays men and even dogs with compassion, and marvelously bizarre humor, as well. In "Pelt," a slavishly obedient dog is urged to assert his independence; "Looking Down" presents a freedom-loving bird-man who gradually is tamed by love. Love, in fact, is the unifying theme of these stories; imagined or real, it can transform the most cynical of beings. Emshwiller's characters embrace the unexpected and extraordinary; their lives leap from the mundane to the wondrous in a surreal instant, and the reader feels transported, too.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Emshwiller's latest volume of short fiction displays much the same spirit as her previous works. Offering 18 stories, she writes with incredible imagination of human beings and animals. Many of her characters are outside mainstream society by virtue of their age, appearance, or temperament. In "The Start of the End of It All," aliens come to Earth and join forces with divorced women to take over the planet. Under alien influence, the women (and herds of ewes) give birth to thousands of silvery little minnows, which will grow into more aliens. In "Moon Songs," a beautiful young girl falls in love with a singing mite and meets a premature end. The sensibilities in this book are extraordinary; it is a work of fantasy and science ficiton, with a feminist twist. Readers are likely to find themselves thinking, "How did the author ever think of this?!" while reading these highly unusual stories.
- Kimberly G. Allen, National Assn. of Home Builders Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Eighteen short fantastic fictions comprise Emshwiller's third superb collection (Verging on the Pertinent, Joy in our Cause): again, her improvisations include inventive fabulisms and feminist satires, many with a science-fictional spin to them. In the typical title story, whacked-out and laced with dream imagery, aliens approach the narrator: ``It is important and salutary to speak of incomprehensible things.'' They provide her (and other middle-aged divorces) with a ``master plan'' to change the world by eliminating cats from it. One misunderstanding leads to another: ``And now the same old pattern. Another breakup, another identity crisis. It shows I haven't learned a thing.'' This pattern--the fantastic undercut by the commonplace--is used to advantage elsewhere. In ``Looking Down,'' a birdman gets captured. He mates with a mere woman and has a child, then teaches himself and his captors that, though not a god, ``I know ways to make her happy even so.'' In ``Glory, Glory,'' a wife on vacation with her husband is suddenly recognized by the natives as a goddess. The husband is at first amused, then taken aback: ``You're thinking very well of yourself, that's easy to see, but you know you never even finished college.'' The wife likes her new state, however, and finally abandons him. Other stories are less fantastic but remain metaphorically haunting: ``There is no Evil Angel but Love,'' for instance, is the story of an 80-year-old woman who falls in love, wondering why she ``never had a real life like everybody else.'' The ensuing ``affair'' is otherworldly, yet psychologically apt. Emshwiller's fabulisms court a sense of the sacred but cleverly undercut that sense with tongue-in-cheek playfulness. The ensuing deft balance between mystery and skepticism is touching-- and often aesthetically triumphant. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
