Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories

by Jessica Anderson

This new collection resoundingly affirms Jessica Anderson's remarkable talents. In stories told from the point of view of a young girl growing up in Brisbane, Anderson re-creates the "warm zone" of family life -- sibling rivalries and oddly formed alliances, the subtle interplay among mother, father, sisters and brother as they establish separate identities within the family, in school, and in society. Sydney Stories delves into the "adult" concerns. From a finely drawn portrait of a woman recently divorced, to a rich, often funny novella about the secret affair between a middle-aged man and his daughter's mother-in-law, Anderson looks into the human heart and captures it in all its contradictions and wonders.

Genres: Australia, Short Stories, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

This is Jessica^Anderson, where ^=space.

About the Author:
Jessica Margaret Anderson (25 September 1916 – 9 July 2010) was an Australian novelist and short story writer.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jane Routley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I meant to leave this behind after reading it on holiday too, but once again I admired it too much. I always wind up wondering with JA what is the point of the story and yet I felt satisfied by these stories because the journey was always so wonderful. Each story evoked its little world so vividly. The first set of stories from the Warm Zone were autobiographical and sent me to JA's wikipedia entry. 1920's Brisbane comes across so clearly. I especially like the story of her mother being one of the first women to work at the Post Office and having to daily run the gauntlet of abusive men when she first started for supposedly taking away a mans job. We forget how hard it once was.

[Minnie Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing and wonderful insight into the complexity of humans.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book shipped all the way from Australia (...via Amazon.com)
Little did I know I ordered a 'gem'!
8 short stories that are EXCELLENT!
Part 1 (5 stories) reflects the title
Stories told from the point of view of Beatie, (Jessica Anderson)
a young girl growing up in Brisbane (...the "warm zone"),
She recreates family relationships and trace
the path from adolescence to adulthood.
Rhoda, Sybil and Neal represent the author's siblings.
Part 2: Sydney Stories
2 unhappy marriages + one happy relationship.
The last story can easily be a 'novella'...took 3 hrs to read
...but oh, so good!
This is the first short story collection I've read with
a perfect 100% score....all 8 stories are worth your reading time.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second of Anderson's books I've read recently. I am not usually a reader of short stories; these were on the longer side which added to my appreciation. The first five are autobiographical and the last are not based on Anderson's life. She has a great appreciation of human frailty and family connections. A sadness and sense of longing, lost opportunity in all her well written stories.