TALKING TO THE WORLD

From the rural villages of Central America to the Mojave Desert to theexpensive homes of Santa Barbara, these stories by a superb writerexplore the explosive relations between rich and poor, workers andbosses, Anglo and Chicano, men and women, nature and culture. The urbannovella "Talking to the World" is about a discontented veterinarian, abedridden philosopher, a by-the-rules apartment manager, Gustav Mahler;and a dying koala.