Small Change

Rating:
Summary: A feast of dark things
Review: In this collection of episodes in an ongoing life story, Hay uses her narrator "Bethie" to vent a vast store of anger and resentment. Each story relates encounters between Bethie and other women. Men flit in and out of some scenes, leaving no prolonged mark. Bethie's interactions with each of the women is related with deep introspection, but none of them, Beth included, exhibit any depth. Not that any of the characters fails a reality check. Hay is too fine a writer to foist implausible people on the reader. The characters are carefully, even exquisitely drawn. The exchanges are nearly uniformly superficial, but Bethie's reflections and self-assessments on them are intensely revealing. At the end, you will ask yourself "could this woman be my friend?"

It matters little whether an individual episode begins or ends darkly - the darkness is there, persistent throughout the collection. Bethie demands, in her mind, much from her friends. Failure to deliver, or stepping from a preconceived image, arouses her wrath quickly. That anger is expressed, but entirely in her mind. Few shouting matches. No clearing of issues. Simply drifting apart or, in a few cases, some prickly rebounds. Being a friend of Bethie's is a high-risk investment with few rewards. In fact, none of the relationships revealed here could be remotely called "friendships" no matter how frequently the word crops up.

Although a disturbing read, the nomination for many awards this book received is testimony to its value. Calling the writing "honed" is puny understatement. Yet, what the book accomplishes remains elusive. Hay has offered none of her characters as a role model. Perhaps the real challenge in this book is inherent in its "women's view." Is this book an example of why many women censure the right of male writers to assume their viewpoint? This book may be throwing down the gauntlet to male writers to delve this deeply into a woman's psyche. The vivid exposure of Bethie's inner thoughts so genuinely portrayed, show Hay's skills cannot be challenged. A valuable expression of inner thoughts, this book is a fine example of creative writing. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Rating:
Summary: A feast of dark things
Review: In this collection of episodes in an ongoing life story, Hay uses her narrator "Bethie" to vent a vast store of anger and resentment. Each story relates encounters between Bethie and other women. Men flit in and out of some scenes, leaving no prolonged mark. Bethie's interactions with each of the women is related with deep introspection, but none of them, Beth included, exhibit any depth. Not that any of the characters fails a reality check. Hay is too fine a writer to foist implausible people on the reader. The characters are carefully, even exquisitely drawn. The exchanges are nearly uniformly superficial, but Bethie's reflections and self-assessments on them are intensely revealing. At the end, you will ask yourself "could this woman be my friend?"

It matters little whether an individual episode begins or ends darkly - the darkness is there, persistent throughout the collection. Bethie demands, in her mind, much from her friends. Failure to deliver, or stepping from a preconceived image, arouses her wrath quickly. That anger is expressed, but entirely in her mind. Few shouting matches. No clearing of issues. Simply drifting apart or, in a few cases, some prickly rebounds. Being a friend of Bethie's is a high-risk investment with few rewards. In fact, none of the relationships revealed here could be remotely called "friendships" no matter how frequently the word crops up.

Although a disturbing read, the nomination for many awards this book received is testimony to its value. Calling the writing "honed" is puny understatement. Yet, what the book accomplishes remains elusive. Hay has offered none of her characters as a role model. Perhaps the real challenge in this book is inherent in its "women's view." Is this book an example of why many women censure the right of male writers to assume their viewpoint? This book may be throwing down the gauntlet to male writers to delve this deeply into a woman's psyche. The vivid exposure of Bethie's inner thoughts so genuinely portrayed, show Hay's skills cannot be challenged. A valuable expression of inner thoughts, this book is a fine example of creative writing. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Rating:
Summary: A powerful exploration of friendships between women.
Review: Small Change is a beautifully written, emotionally challenging book of linked stories about friendships between women. This book has been nominated for a number of significant literary awards, including being shortlisted for Canada's Governor General's Award for Fiction in 1997.