SPRING SONG AND OTHER STORIES

Widely varied in every way, these thirty-four stories are united by their narrative brilliance. , They range from ironic meditation on good and evil to joyful celebration of human creativity. , , They are set in Africa, in England, in the present or the past, in a child&rsquo,s microcosm, a Nigerian bush-station, a businessman&rsquo,s home, a soldier&rsquo,s night under the stars. , , Their characters are as various as their settings &ndash, devoted mothers, children practicing to be grownups or in rebellion, harassed men trying to reconcile dream and reality. , , In length and technique they show the same extraordinary variety. The two long narratives of African life contrast with the miniatures such as &lsquo,Romance&rsquo,, the only short story that Time magazine had hitherto published._,