How to Accommodate Men

How to Accommodate Men, Marilyn Krysl, Coffee House Press, 1998

This group of contemporary short stories are united around the themes of war and division, whether between families, lovers, or inhabitants of the same country, and the ways that connections are re-established.

Several stories are set in the middle of the civil war in Sri Lanka, including one where an American journalist flirts with a Tamil lieutenant and comes to understand and love him. A medieval lesbian nun is given Christ's true vision, from Christ himself. A woman suspects a young girl of trying to seduce her husband. When the two women meet in a restaurant bathroom, the wife identifies with the lost feeling that comes from being beautiful. The title story is about a woman who, through small, anonymous compassionate gestures, makes herself indispensable to her husband and her boss, though neither of the men realize it.

This book is really good. The stories in it are sad and hopeful, thought-provoking and very easy to read. Here is a first-rate collection of stories.