Book Review

The Hill Bachelors (2012)

EW's GRADE
A

Details Writer: William Trevor; Genres: Fiction, Short Stories; Publisher: Viking

Not all the characters in William Trevor's 10th collection of stories The Hill Bachelors are bachelors, but they do share a sense of rootlessness and isolation associated with bachelorhood. The author captures his mostly Irish characters as they pass from place to place, like the monk journeying to an abandoned childhood home in ''The Virgin's Gift.'' The rest of Trevor's people lead lives full of silence and sorrow, among them the girl who hopes her small part in a movie will reconcile her parents in ''Good News,'' and the irritating family friend of whom the narrator remarks ''his surface runs deep'' in ''A Friend in the Trade.'' Trevor's art lies in rendering the complexity of reticence, gently probing why some things refuse to be said. A

Originally posted Nov 03, 2000 Published in issue #567 Nov 03, 2000 Order article reprints

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