After examining the lives of privileged 20-somethings in The Fundamentals of Play
, Macy sets her sights a decade older, and her new short story collection prominently features the concerns of women of leisure and the tension between classes. In “Eden's Gate,” an up-and-coming starlet and her old-money boyfriend share a tense dinner; in “Annabel's Mother,” Gramercy Park keyholders gossip. The title story follows adolescent Leigh as she muddles through a horseback riding competition and butts heads with her overbearing riding instructor. The two sisters in “Bait and Switch” find themselves in an awkward situation while spending a week together in an Italian beach house. While the stories are individually rewarding and Macy is especially adept at slyly pointing out the absurdities inherent in a social set where renting a summerhouse is a source of shame, the similarities between her characters and the preponderance of fish-out-of-water situations make the collection seem repetitive and narrow. (Mar.)
