FICTION

THE ROSE FANCIER by Olga Masters (W.W. Norton: $18.95; 135 pp.). These short stories are rare treats. Each sentence is perfectly crafted and each tale is told with such care that it seems the author imposed upon herself a limited space in which to pack as much as possible. Masters understands a child’s special sadness, so close to the core, lacking the perspective that comes with experience. Her children creep around, unsure of their welcome, fearful of calamity, devastated by the failures of adults. Her milieu is Australia, but her themes are universal. In the title story, two elderly sisters have spent a lifetime paralyzed by the frustration of their mother. That poor woman races wildly through the garden, jumping rope, chopping off roses and sending them flying in her destructive fury. “Home Sick” is a story of a sick child who knows somehow that his presence at home is getting in the way of something his mother would rather be doing. Some of these stories were in progress when the author died, and the early drafts were edited by others. These may be a little weaker than the rest, but the entire collection is splendid.