The works of six contemporary authors of short fiction, of disparate gender and cultural origin, are examined for the similarities and differences in their attitudes toward marriage. Geldrich-Leffman (German and Spanish, Loyola College) focuses on the dialogic aspect of the authors' treatment of marriage, holding that marriage itself is dialogic in nature, lending itself to use as a metaphor for communication, as well as an ideal framework for exploring the social, psychological, and linguistic implications of the difficulty of dialogue and the essential isolation of the individual. The authors discussed are Siegfried Lenz and Gabriele Wohmann of West Germany, Helga Schubert of East Germany, Julio R. Ribeyro of Peru, Mario Benedetti of Uruguay, and Rosario Castellanos of Mexico. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
