Watch Where the Wolf Is Going

This selection of 11 short stories from six collections published over the last 20 years celebrates Skarmeta's return from exile to his native Chile. The familial poignancy of ``Fish,'' the linguistic humor in ``Stuck in the Mud,'' and the suggestion of political oppression in ``The Call'' and ``The Composition'' typify the thematic and stylistic homogeneity of these seemingly autobiographical narratives. Four of his other works have already appeared in English, most recently Burning Patience ( LJ 2/15/87), the latter a more evocative and compelling novella than these stories, which overall do not reflect Skarmeta's best writing.-- Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio