This short story collection is divided into 5 sections. First is the story "The Tiger in the Grass," which I enjoyed very much. The starting point was that the protagonist's son was dying and he had requested that she write a short account of her long life. I could not tell if it was autobiographical or not. I suspect it was a mix. Either way, I enjoyed it. It was a poignant story, but not too sad.
The next section was titled "First Work." The stories were shorter, and beautifully written, but not memorable.
The third section was titled "Mexico." Harriet Doerr spent many years in Mexico, and these stories seem to be based on her experiences there and her view of the country and its people.
In that section, I read "Sun, Pure Air, and a View." A woman has moved to Mexico after a legal separation from her husband. She is in her early forties and has two children who don't keep in touch with her. She doesn't know where they are and she worries. She has a home in a small town in Mexico because her husband died shortly after they separated and left it to her. I also liked that story; the story was clever and realistic, for the most part.
Overall I appreciated the stories here mostly for the beautiful writing, and the sense of place. I have not read either of Doerr's two novels and I would like to do that. She published her first novel, Stones for Ibarra, in 1984 at the age of 74, after she had completed her B.A. degree.
What is left for me to read in this collection? There are four stories left in the Mexico section. I look forward to those. Next are four stories in a section called "Memory." Some are very short, some medium length. There is one last story, "Evie: A Life." Readers have praised that story. So I will return to those stories, and I expect them to be good reads.
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