Locked Out: Stories far from home by Alison Lester

Travel to Singapore, Tokyo, Colombo, and St. Louis with Alison Lester's challenging, charming characters as they grapple with a sense of dislocation and the nagging possibility of betrayal that accompanies new beginnings. In “Locked Out,” investigate the marriage of a woman confronted by her first gray hairs and her husband's sexy Japanese assistant. In “Being Japanese,” wonder along with the dying young Japanese woman why it is that being Japanese takes such a toll on a body. In “Tiptoe,” arrive in Singapore with a young New Hampshire wife and feel her bewilderment as she becomes a magnet for a deeply unhappy child. In “The War of the Worlds,” see things from the other way around, as an American boy spends an unexpected afternoon with a German immigrant to his neighborhood. Lester writes evocatively about the many facets of being far from home or uncomfortable where home is. Factor in the honest and amusing dialogue, and Lester's graceful prose, and the result is a very genuine collection of stories that will appeal to seasoned and armchair travelers alike.