Genius of Hunger

These short stories give you a glimpse into the lives of such interesting people that all I can say is ... when will Diane Goodman give us a novel? You'll find these stories stay with you and the women will not only haunt you, you'll start seeing them around you!

This book is a collection of stories of women connected physically by their presence in grocery stores and metaphorically by their hunger. The hunger is a play on words - it is really hunger for true companionship, honesty, love, understanding, psychic relief, life. And it does bring genius in its own way as these women learn to cope. Not only cope, but become wiser and more self realized than before life beat them around. This is not a sad book. It is uplifting in a very "real" way. I read it at one sitting and could not put it down. The publisher was asleep during the editing/printing (there are many publisher typos) but other than that it is a flawless collection of honest stories.

Contrary to the juvenile and illiterate review by "Tom" in Miami, I thought that "The Genius of Hunger" was a gripping series of stories by an author who understands the plights, insecurities and strengths of everyday women. The reader is not drawn to the protagonists in Diane Goodman's stories because they exhibit characteristics that we wish we had--a scintillating wit, unmatched physical beauty, a certain 'je ne sais quoi' which to which men and women are drawn. No, we relate to the women in "The Genius of Hunger" because they speak to us from a place inside our own psyches. In the story "Joan", when Joan feels pangs of nausea at comparing her disheviled self to her foil, the impeccable Juanita Pedrosa, the reader is right there with her. Joan is a thoroughly tragic figure, yet Ms. Goodman reveals her essetial humanity to us with delicate turns of phrase that speak to her skills as a poet.I plan on giving this book to all the women and "Toms" I know--an insightful look into the hearts and minds of women.

I read a prepub copy of the book and it's great. Sad, funny, moving -- dead-on. The last story was my favorite. The author is a poet who has made the transition over to fiction without any struggle. An excellent read --especially for women.