From Publishers Weekly
"In this aptly titled gathering, we experience the uprootedness of people whose lives are changed by circumstances over which they have no control," remarked PW , calling Hospital's short-story debut "richly diverse." Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Hospital, author of three novels, here presents 17 stories variously set in Australia, where she was born, and in India, Canada, and New York, where she has lived. In "Happy Diwali" a group of emigre Indians wear quilted eiderdown over their delicate Kashmiri silk to guard against the fierce Canadian winter. They cover themselves with outer garments of necessity and assimilation, keeping their own culture underneath. In "After Long Absence" the narrator tells us, "I know about words . . . about the depth charges they carry." Returning to her childhood home in Australia, beset by old, unresolved conflicts, she is acutely aware of these depth charges. Like all of us, Hospital's characters are dislocated by events in the past that intrude and warp the present. Thoughtful stories, written with grace and a generous spirit.Marcia Tager, Tenafly, N.J.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Denver Post
A challenging collection of short stories. . . . These stories are unlike most modern fiction: Dislocations ignores self-preoccupation to explore the larger issues of the life process.


Milwaukee Journal
The 17 stories here aren't little gifts; they're cross-cultural treasures. Rarely have I been so captivated by a collection of short fiction.


Book Description
From the author of the highly praised novel Oyster, Dislocations is filled with "sensuous, speculative fictions about the experience of dislocation.... Stories develop like poems or meditations." (New York Times Book Review) These stories help us to find our place in a world in which we have all become rootless travelers. Janette Turner Hospital's characters are exiles who share an intimate knowledge of dislocation: from their culture, from their native countries, from themselves. Her intimate stories capture the turning points in her character's lives: Indian lovers on a last romantic weekend before their arranged marriages; a daughter's welcome home after years of travel.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the last twenty years Janette Turner Hospital has lived on four continents. A native Australian and now a resident of Canada, she has spent time in India, England, and the United States. This intimate acquaintance with diverse cultures informs Dislocations, her award-winning, richly textured collected of stories.

Distinguised by allusive prose, telling characterization, and an unerring sense of place, Dislocations is a remarkably accomplished collection of stories.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly