I know I had read this collection of Ann Beattie stories a long time ago, but I found a copy in the basement of our co-op building, began it again, then put it down for a couple of years and recently picked it up again after reading a later Beattie collection. Except for striking details, I did not remember the stories. The only one I could recall was The Cinderella Waltz about a woman whose husband leaves her for another man. Rereading that one, I found themes deeper than just the novelty of a gay angle. The husband is now thinking of moving to San Francisco for a new job. In an interesting detail, the wife recalls the husband not being satisfied with any of the Christmas gifts, and being disappointed with a six-slice toaster when he wanted a eight-slice model. This seemingly insignificant piece of information shows us the husband always wants more, whether it's a present or a relationship. You have to look hard at what Beattie includes and why she includes it.
Reading these stories again now that I'm older and lived through situations similar to those of the characters gives me a better understanding of Beattie's craft. She offers pieces of a person's life, like flashes, and imparts why they do what they do. I liked Greenwich Time with the divorced husband killing time in Manhattan until he forces himself to drive to Connecticut and ask his remarried ex-wife for custody of their little boy.
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