Kay Boyle always could tell a story well. This volume, three short novels in one, is no exception. “The Crazy Hunter” is a charming story with macabre elements. It shows the struggle and blind craving for life in a young girl and her father against the domination of a frustrated mother. The struggle is projected in their defense of a gelding, suddenly gone blind. “The Bridegroom's Body” is the story of the struggle of two women, one strong and one weak, against men. The counterpart of this struggle is depicted amongst combative male swans, for the possession of the female. In the third story, “Big Fiddle”, the author shows how a man, by his slight actions and emotional responses, gets himself involved in a murder which he did not commit. The stories themselves are too sketchy to warrant any deep psychological study.