Thanks!

RE: The last question in your review:

One question I have, though: since Frank obviously doesn’t feel any moral problem with an abortion, why is he against April’s getting one? Was it to lock April into the role he wanted her to play? Did his masculinity demand it? Or was it because, while April was unique in the suberbs, Frank never was?

I thought that Frank was afraid that he would not shine in Europe. In the suburbs of America he was seen as clever and bright, as April said he talked a big game and could make black appear white. But maybe in Paris he would just be a country bumpkin and he was afraid of being revealed. So I think he was releaved that she was pregnant and this allowed him to appear to take the high road while all the time he was hiding behind her skirts and April could sense this and this made her resent him more.

As for Yates’ short stories, the reason that I advocate leaving space between them is that he seems to try out the themes for most of his novels first in a short story (characters and situations from the stories aften show up almost intact later in a novel). Since he is one of those writers whose entire work seems to be a whole (if you know what I mean — that’s not very well expressed) and since that work often involves rather depressing circumstances, reading the stories one after another tends to produce a lot of gloominess on a number of different fronts, whereas when you read just one or two and take some time for thought you can develop a context.

And I’m still very sad that one of my favorite books, The Virgin Suicides, still has the movie post cover ten years later!

I know, commenting on covers, but the cover of a book matters is the first thing you see and can set the tone in a way complementary to the author’s work or damaging to it, unfair as that may be.

I’ll take your advice on the short stories Kevin. The Vikram Chandra collection I read recently benefitted from reading them together, Eileen Chang didn’t benefit but didn’t suffer from reading them in one go, but a Raymond Carver collection I started suffered terribly when I did the exact same thing as I had with the Chandra and the Chang.

It’s useful to know up front how much space to leave, as one can crush short stories very easily by not giving them the space they need to breathe, and how much space that is isn’t always obvious until it may be a tad too late.

And my adivce on the Yates short stories (which I also picked up following Trevor putting me on to him) is to develop a plan to read them one or two at a time. They need some contemplation.

I also don’t think you’ll be terribly disappointed with The Reluctant Fundamentalist. I didn’t particularly think the framing device was effective, but the writing is good and takes the reader through an interesting perspective. A New Yorker smiling when he sees the Towers fall? I also thought the book’s touches on identity were a strong point, potentially one of the best parts of 2007′s Booker shortlist.