A Perfect Stranger and Other Stories
by Roxana Robinson
Published by Published by Random House
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
Roxana Robinson has authored two short story collections, a biography of Georgia O'Keeffe, and three novels. Sweetwater is one of my top-ten all-time favorite novels. So it was with great expectation that I began reading A Perfect Stranger and Other Stories. And what a delectable read it was. Robinson is as proficient at writing short fiction as she is writing the novel. And she seems to be equally as comfortable.
Each story in Robinson's collection immerses the reader into a world of relationships where she introduces us to her rich, complex characters and then allows us to become an intimate voyeur in the fabric of their thoughts and lives.
It is impossible to discuss each story in a collection so I will mention my favorites. "The Pilgrimage" paints a picture so strong, I lived the emotions of the woman as her fantasy abruptly vanished and she lived her humiliation. "Treatment" is about vulnerability, the facing of our own mortality. But though all the stories are superb, and everyone, for their own reasons, will have a favorite, mine is "Choosing Sides." Love is a choice; a conscious decision. And if that choice is a child—it's forever.
Armchair Interviews says: A Perfect Stranger and Other Stories is a book to be read, the words savored and then read again and again and again. Roxana Robinson is truly a gifted storyteller.