rev. of The Winter Without Milk by Jane Avrich

The Winter Without Milk, stories by Jane Avrich (Mariner):What can be said about a writer who reimagines everyone from Oedipus to Hester Prynne, and throws in common contemporary folk for good measure? Here are stories that are literary in the best sense of the word-smart, witty, erudite, even at times bookish. This first collection hums with both unexpected energy and unexpected invention, renewing and extending what we know of some of our older tales and fearlessly inventing new ground. —Fred Leebron