Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns

March 20, 2006
An acclaimed novelist (Some People, Some Other Place
), playwright (Strangers
) and short story writer (Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime
), Cooper checks in with a collection of stories that shine a spotlight on the lives of invisible women. Her characters are confined, whether by poverty and degradation, or by narcissism and the trappings of success, and they long for satisfaction and deliverance. In "In the Eye of the Beholder," Lily Bea, an ugly duckling, grows up into a graceful woman with an innate love of beauty that may not do her much good, while Harriet, a damaged hotel proprietress in "Catch a Falling Heart," struggles toward a better life using whatever or whoever is at hand. Fulfillment, when it happens, comes in the trappings of a good man or a home of their own and the economic freedom it signifies. Alcoholism, AIDS, licentiousness and loneliness contend with education, a trust in God and other simple remedies that are difficult to apply. Cooper's narrators are storytellers who watch from the margins of life, who might be seen at first as meddlers, but become recognizable as a small army of empathic souls, who struggle toward self-awareness, honest observation and forging connections

March 15, 2006
Cooper, winner of the 1989 American Book Award for "Homemade Love", has put together a collection of short stories around the theme of searching, and this universal pursuit -whatever the desired object -is what makes this collection work in the end. These stories have their problems -the narrators get rather preachy, and the conversations are often stilted. But the changes in characters like Lily Bea ( -The Eye of the Beholder -), a meek little girl who becomes a confident businesswoman, and Harriet ( -Catch a Falling Heart -), a handicapped hotel owner who becomes a happily married woman, will resonate with the reader. Names are often sly and humorous depictions of characters themselves, like Futila Ways in -As Time Goes By - or Mr. Bsurd in -Just-Life Politics. - Cooper's voice is that of a folksy storyteller, and the loves and mistakes of all the characters are those of real people, which is finally what really makes the stories successful. Recommended for medium to large libraries." -Amy Ford, St. Mary's Cty. Lib., Lexington Park, MD"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2006
Cooper's talent for capturing the lives of ordinary people penetrates this collection of short stories. These are simple stories about personal struggles in settings from small towns to urban centers. An awkward young woman, pushed into a loveless marriage by her mother, eventually finds her own way professionally and emotionally. Two successful urban professionals cross paths in a nightclub, and neither is satisfied when the evening ends as so many have--in disappointment. A 14-year-old in love with her best friend's much older brother observes the sexual tensions he stirs in others. Many of the stories are told from the perspective of a narrator, close but far away enough for sharp discernment. Cooper fans will enjoy this collection, and those who are new to her work will appreciate her character development and artful storytelling.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)