Polaris and other stories
by Fay Weldon
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Fay Weldon journeys to the wilds of Scotland and far-off Tasmania in these twelve tales of sexual politics and marital and political warfare In "Christmas Lists--A Seasonal Story," the endless lists created by a suburban couple become a metaphor for marriage, family, and enduring love. In "Delights of France or Horrors of the Road," a woman goes to a psychiatrist to cure her sudden, inexplicable paralysis, unaware that her constant bragging about her brilliant physicist husband conceals a show more raging fury. "Redundant! or the Wife's Revenge" takes place in a plastic surgery ward, where Fay Weldon finds an ironic humor. The title story introduces newlyweds Meg and Timmy, whose union is tested when Timmy is called away to naval duty and Meg discovers a shocking secret. By turns funny, tragic, macabre, and bittersweet, Polaris is a collection of masterworks by one of our most incisive authors. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I love short stories and this is one of my favourite collections; I've had it for years and have reread many times. The general tone of the book is feminist, with some stories more explicit than others. The theme of the stories are women's lives and their relation to their men and/or families; I enjoy the stories but I think in general they make me thankful that I've grown up after women's liberation.
In all these tales Fay Weldon creates real people and the style of each reflects the characters and story being told. The main stories that stand out for me are the title one which is very vivid in place and atmosphere and Christmas Lists, which shows the history of a marriage through Christmases past. This story's tragicomic tone is show more representative of the whole book, but I particularly like the hope at the end of tale. show less
In all these tales Fay Weldon creates real people and the style of each reflects the characters and story being told. The main stories that stand out for me are the title one which is very vivid in place and atmosphere and Christmas Lists, which shows the history of a marriage through Christmases past. This story's tragicomic tone is show more representative of the whole book, but I particularly like the hope at the end of tale. show less
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Author Information
95+ Works 9,287 Members
Fay Weldon was born in Worcester, England on September 22, 1931. She read economics and psychology at the University of St. Andrews. She worked as a propaganda writer for the British Foreign Office and then as an advertising copywriter for various firms in London before making writing a full-time career. Her work includes over twenty novels, five show more collections of short stories, several children's books, non-fiction books, and a number of plays written for television, radio and the stage. Her collections of short stories include Mischief and Nothing to Wear and Nowhere to Hide. She wrote a memoir entitled Auto Da Fay and non-fiction book entitled What Makes Women Happy. She wrote the pilot episode for the television series Upstairs Downstairs. Her first novel, The Fat Woman's Joke, was published in 1967. Her other novels include Praxis, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Puffball, Rhode Island Blues, Mantrapped, She May Not Leave, The Spa Decameron, Habits of the House, Long Live the King, and The New Countess. Wicked Women won the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award. She was awarded a CBE in 2001. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Polaris and other stories
- Original publication date
- 1985
- First words
- The dog was called Thompson, a name without significance, except that Timmy's nephew, aged ten, had named him so.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 108
- Popularity
- 301,121
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- Danish, English, Italian, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 3
