You Never Know: 2and Other Stories

Demonstrating the same sharp eye, nuanced ear and unblinking, affectionate insight that marked The Elizabeth Stories , her debut collection about adolescence, Huggan here focuses mostly on young married women. Sexual, maternal, intelligent and aware of their failings, her women share the recognition that their innocence was not so much lost as illusory. This knowledge brings liberation as well as sorrow. Among the best stories is the delicate, deftly crafted ``On Fire,'' which follows Lily, who has not been able to conceive, on the annual summer vacation she and her husband take with her former college roommate, Casey, her husband and three babies. Huggan refers to the future the two couples will inhabit, resolving some of the hinted-at secrets while leaving others unrevealed. ``Losing Face'' and ``Skin the Colour of Money'' trace the observations of a young Canadian woman, living in Nairobi with her diplomat husband, as she tries to understand her relationships with African servants and merchants. In ``Knowing People'' a Canadian woman returns with her husband and teenaged children to the remote Scottish farm where she spent a summer 25 years earlier. Whether set in Africa, a mental institution (``Throwing and Catching''), in a rural farmhouse (``The Violation'') or in southern France (``Sitsy''), Huggan's stories and her original characters bear the stamp of unarguable authenticity. (May)