Glass Houses : short stories / George Rabasa

Located in Gloria Grant Room - special collection of San Miguel de Allende authors.

In his first collection of short stories, Rabasa introduces a delightfully bizarre world and sheds light on it from 19 different angles. Each story is more entertaining than the last, and the overall effect is refreshing even if Rabasa's penchant for the outlandish detail seems contrived at times. In "A Small Mystery," Eleanor Wright is convinced that her new neighbor, Walter Pribble, is a criminal. While her husband markets a new cereal using his neighbor's name (Grain, Fruit 'n Nut Pribbles), Eleanor is fascinated by Walter's nightly ritual of prancing around his kitchen naked. Then there's Sally Caslon in "Beyond the Norm," who sells the head of Mrs. Arveda Gutterman, a 19th-century serial killer, at a garage sale for 50. The local color of Rabasa's realm is especially bright in "The Garbage House," where the Halvorsons of 467 Farrell Street are forced into a Super Eight Motel while sanitation experts empty three tons of garbage that have accumulated during the couple's decade-long quarrel over who should wash the dishes. The greatest strength of this collection is its dialogue. Rabasa recreates the subtle misunderstandings of everyday banter, giving each character such a distinct voice that the dialogue could practically stand on its own.

English.