Ladies and Gentlemen,
An interesting collection of stories, some real, some not, (well, “Idaho” is probably the only real story); most of these stories are somewhat fragmented, as though they were belonging to a greater whole--maybe I’m expecting another Tennis Handsome. The film treatment, “Power and Light,” written for Altman would’ve made a good Altman film and isn’t a bad read in its own right. All in all, I liked it. ( )

Barry Hannah’s sentences swirl and dip, stop short, reverse. They perform strange and nimble feats of acrobatics. His characters are equally mesmerizing. A girl “chattered like a toy with all its Italo-American past on tape.” A beauty is in “fresh stockings despite the heat, her toes eloquent in the white straps of her shoes.” These seven stories and one “idea for film” are magical in their vision and language. ( )