From Publishers Weekly
The culture of many countriesher native Australia, England, India, the U.S. and Canada, where last year she was named among "Best Ten Younger Writers"is woven through these richly diverse stories in a first short story collection by Hospital. In this aptly titled gathering, we experience the uprootedness of people whose lives are changed by circumstances over which they have no control. "Happy Diwali" follows two young lovers, Indians living in Canada; the parkas and ski caps they must wear in this cold climate are in strange contrast with saris and other colorful adornments appropriate for the celebration of a traditional festival. In "Moving Out," an elderly Canadian widow is differently displaced and begins a painful coping with the large, noisy Chinese family that has moved in next door. Notable for its wry interpretation of a social reality is "Mosie." The central character is a street-wise black cleaning lady in the employ of Columbia University who shepherds one of her clients, a Chaucer-spouting widow, through the mine field of a neighborhood in transition. In these portrayals of people who feel "other" wherever they happen to be, a sense of place is captured in nuances of speech and emotions. Hospital's novels include the Seal Award-winning The Ivory Swing. Copyright 1988 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.

ANNOTATION

Hospital's characters are exiles who share an intimate knowledge of dislocation, whether in culture, geography, or self-understanding.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The culture of many countriesher native Australia, England, India, the U.S. and Canada, where last year she was named among ``Best Ten Younger Writers''is woven through these richly diverse stories in a first short story collection by Hospital. In this aptly titled gathering, we experience the uprootedness of people whose lives are changed by circumstances over which they have no control. ``Happy Diwali'' follows two young lovers, Indians living in Canada; the parkas and ski caps they must wear in this cold climate are in strange contrast with saris and other colorful adornments appropriate for the celebration of a traditional festival. In ``Moving Out,'' an elderly Canadian widow is differently displaced and begins a painful coping with the large, noisy Chinese family that has moved in next door. Notable for its wry interpretation of a social reality is ``Mosie.'' The central character is a street-wise black cleaning lady in the employ of Columbia University who shepherds one of her clients, a Chaucer-spouting widow, through the mine field of a neighborhood in transition. In these portrayals of people who feel ``other'' wherever they happen to be, a sense of place is captured in nuances of speech and emotions. Hospital's novels include the Seal Award-winning The Ivory Swing. (September)

Library Journal