Ellis Island

About the Book

If in A Dove of the East and Other Stories the natural emphasis fell upon that which was fresh, exquisite, and hopeful, in Ellis Island and Other Stories maturity adds depth and shadow to sunshine. Though the stories are just as luminous, their light is modulated by experience and directed with greater concentration at darker and more distant corners. The stories are longer and more complex, the range narrowed, and the emotional impact intensified. Now the sheer beauty of the writing and masterful evocation of time and place are perfectly balanced with sustained literary power of the highest order. It is as if the author, who, because of his youth, could at first only imagine the human condition, has now encountered it and is therefore able to strengthen correspondingly every aspect of his work, and to extraordinary effect.