Close-Ups

Close-Ups, Sandra Thompson, Plume Books (New American Library), 1984

This is a group of short stories about the ups and downs of being an '80s independent woman, These are tales of first sex, of having an affair with a man with hypoglycemia, of a woman inviting herself across the country to visit an ex-boyfriend, tales of Hollywood parties, child rearing, a woman wanting to take her dying mother to the beauty parlor, tales that move back and forth over the last 30 years.

With a minimum of hipness and trendiness, Thompson has written a vivid and realistic account of a woman's life. It's a short collection, but eloquent and very much worth reading.