More Than Life Itself

In her stories, many of which have already appeared in both French and English, Judith Cowan starts with the everyday facts of experience. She has a strong, sure sense of the surfaces of contemporary life, but she also has a sense of the passions that lie beneath the surface. She can create the secret life of a policeman, the easy conscience of a criminal, the love of a bar-room piano-player for his children. These are austere stories, but they are resonant with meaning and they all speak directly from the heart.