Light Action in the Caribbean Barry Lopez

This collection of short stories by Barry Lopez held some surprises.  I often have a hard time getting pleasure from shore stories.  They tend to be so single minded that they fall short and this book started out that way for me, but as I continued to read I saw a pattern within the stories that made it a book, rather than a collection.  Now I hated the title story for its gratuitous violence which added nothing to the collection, but overall the study of relationships was really good.  The lesson seemed to be that the focus on an external object can be a form of meditation that shines light on the internal self.  People found beauty and focus in writings, in gardens and in creativity and that was enlightening.

There was also a background of color and nature that seemed to illuminate each epiphany.  Good writing as always.  And I will probably not pursue short stories any more than I have in the past.