“Antarctica” starts provocatively: “Every time the happily married woman went away, she wondered how it would feel to sleep with another man. That weekend, she was determined to find out. It was December; she felt a curtain closing on another years. She wanted to do this before she was too old. She was sure she would be disappointed.” (p. 1)

And, as you would suspect, things do not go well for the happily married woman.

“Love in the Tall Grass” involves a doctor, a young girl named Cordelia, and the ramifications of their affair discovered by the doctor’s wife. And, as you would suspect, things do not go well for the doctor, his wife, or Cordelia.

“Elizabeth Carso, aged nine. Disappeared from her home outside Boulder, Colorado, on Stepther 9th. Last seen wearing a red sweatshirt and blue jeans. If you have seen this person, please call... ” (p. 153). Frank Corso has to live with his embittered wife who blames him for his daughter’s disappearance. And, as you would suspect, things do not go well.

There’s no doubt that Claire Keegan is a talented writer. But I found Antarctica (1999) a little too grim. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Antarctica — 1
Men and Women — 19
Where the Water’s Deepest — 35
Love in the Tall Grass — 43
Storms — 60
Ride If You Dare — 69
The Singing Cashier — 84
Burns — 92
Quare Name for a Boy — 101
Sisters — 109
The Scent of Winter — 133
The Burning Palms — 141
Passport Soup — 153
Close to the Water’s Edge — 162
You Can’t Be Too Careful — 171
The Ginger Rogers Sermon — 182
Acknowledgments — 203
Notes — 205
Biography — 207