An archetypal motif: the falling woman. Never quite fallen - always in transition - she insists on plunging into the forbidden: marching down Main Street topless; seducing married men; exploring the shadowy losses that predate her birth but still manage to stamp her being' Stories of family and love, lovers and betrayal, the longing and fear of which we are made: the stories of Shaena Lambert are about malevolent pubescent sexuality; tough women; adolescent boys boasting about female anatomy. They are sometimes unsettling, always thoughtful and thought-provoking. As with Alice Munro's work, Lambert's stories showcase intelligent women with complex inner lives negotiating the intricacies of relationships with lovers, children and parents. Some of the stories work away at the links and legacies that bind mothers and daughters, but here too is a story of a rigid father and his impulsive young son and the dark currents of their shared grief.