Holidays: Short Stories

The characters in this collection of short stories approach life with temerity and irresolution: when they finally must take a bold step, some land successfully while others immediately retreat. ""Independence Day'' tells of a couple setting out to California to start a new life, but the husband backs down and leaves his wife to choose between independence and fidelity. In ``Leave of Absence'' a writer intends to spend a summer in Maine with an old lover but becomes scared and stays away, leaving her desire unconsummated and her life in disarray. The title story is about a young woman who has broken off a long-term relationship with a man who is unable to understand the meaning of traditions; and in a homey, sweet ending that shows the healing power of memory and roots, she returns to her family for a period of recovery. Ruffolo is an artful, descriptive storyteller whose work is sometimes weakened by her distance from her characters. (April)