"In Envy Country: Stories"

I had read Joan Frank's book reviews in my local paper, The San Francisco Chronicle, but only a few days ago did I pick up and read one of her own books, "In Envy Country: Stories" (University of Notre Dame Press, 2010). Although Frank doesn't directly say so, many of the stories take place in and near San Francisco, with side trips to Europe. So the familiar names and locales were part of the pleasure for me, but the appeal of the book was so much more. The stories are very much about the characters, and the characters are very familiar, sometimes painfully familiar. Who hasn't met the self-made boss who everyone has to pretend is clever, or the self-righteous, arrogant colleague who can't let any grudge go? Who hasn't had beautiful friends that came to a bad end? Who doesn't have married friends who fight too much? Who doesn't sometimes become frustrated or disillusioned with a family member one simultaneously desperately loves? Who doesn't have friends who show off? Or old loves from the past that show up at inopportune times? Although these situations are familiar, as are the marriages and families Frank portrays, they are also unique and original in Frank's hands. I can promise you that you will not be bored by this collection of observant, touching, wry, realistic, and sometimes wrenching stories.