Small ChangeThese twenty superbly crafted linked stories navigate the difficult realm of friendship, charting its beginnings and ends, its intimacies and betrayals, its joys and humiliations. A mother learns something of the nature of love from watching her young daughter as she falls in and out of favour with a neighbourhood girl. An intricate story of two women reveals a friendship held together by the steely bonds of passivity. A chance sighting in a library prompts a woman to recall the “unconsummated courtship” she was drawn into by a male colleague. With trenchant insight, uncommon honesty, and dark humour, Elizabeth Hay probes the precarious bonds that exist between friends. The result is an emotionally raw and provocative collection of stories that will resonate with readers long after the final page. |
Contents
1 | |
The Fire | 19 |
Cézanne in a Soft Hat | 31 |
The Kiss | 37 |
Johnnys Smile | 47 |
A Personal Letter | 127 |
Sayonara | 133 |
A Clear Record | 153 |
Purge Me with Hyssop | 185 |
January through March | 221 |
Several Losses | 233 |
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Common terms and phrases
afternoon anger Annie asked beautiful beside Billy Graham Browning Version called Carol Cary Grant Cézanne child coat colour Danny dark daugh daughter door dress Duchess of Kent everything eyes face feel felt fingers forsythia friendship hair hand happened head hot chocolate husband Ingrid Bergman Jill Johnny Joyce Joyce's kids kitchen knew later laughed Leah leave Leonard letter light Linnea listened living room looked Lorna Mario marriage Maureen Milt months morning mother Moulin Rouge moved movie never night Norma picked play pulled Rahab remember shoulders skin sleep smell smile snow sofa soft someone story street Susan sweater talk Taplow tell Terence Rattigan things thought told took toy camera turned Vaseline voice walked wanted watched wearing weeks West Side Story window woman women writing