UNLOCKING THE AIR

Eighteen tales, 1985-95, set forth in crystalline prose and with impeccable technique, collected from publications as varied as The New Yorker, Playboy, Harper's, Omni and small-press chapbooks. Many, while of insignificant length, offer minutely observed scenes, views, and moments with an insight and compassion that few writers can match: the empty-nest syndrome, people on a bus, a camp conference, beetles and seagulls, the outside and inside of an abortion clinic, a lost set of spoons. Other pieces employ metaphor to good effect, as in a retelling of the Persephone and Hades myth, the growth of Mother Nature, and a family whose taps run with blood. But when Le Guin combines scrutiny with imagination, she shows the full extent of her formidable talents—as in the title piece, a sparkling commentary on the advent of democracy in Eastern Europe; "Ether, OR," a strange town with an elastic concept of locality, home to a dazzling array of characters; "Olders," a magnificent fantasy about a race some of whom, instead of dying, metamorphose into trees; and "The Poacher," a stunning new wrinkle on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. Le Guin's restless intelligence takes her to work in genres from mainstream through fantasy and hard science fiction, while she is equally effective writing for children or adults: Whatever her audience, whatever her thoughts, she has few peers.