These 25 eminently readable stories by New Mexicans, many anthologized for the first time, reflect the heterogeneity of the state and its residents; alike only in that each expresses a unique response to the land, they evoke a definite sense of place. The best-known contributor here is mystery writer Tony Hillerman; in his "Replacement," a Native American soldier in WW II France remembers summer in Pottawatomie County. A refugee from the city is involved in a sordid squabble over the harvest from an apple tree on the property he rents in Robert Granat's "My Apples." Among other standouts are Terry Boren's "Alba in Directed Light," a futuristic, bleak romance; Anaya's ( Bless Me, Ultima ) own "Iliana of the Pleasure Dreams," about a peasant couple learning to love each other; and a clas sic western about a youth earning the respect of men, Marc Simmons's "The Deputy." Lamentably, Gustavo Sainz's "Paisaje de Fogon" appears in Spanish without translation.
Signed edition. Fine condition.