In these poignant short stories from Jonathan Bennett, acclaimed author of the novel After Battersea Park, the "verandah people" are Bennett's own compatriots: Australians for whom the ever-present verandah is both a stage and a private viewing space; a shelter from heat and disquieting bushland, and a seductive barrier to participation in the wider world. Most brilliant are the fully alive, sympathetic female characters, many of them young dreamers and searchers. Also beautifully rendered is the Australian landscape. Bennett allows us to feel the relentless heat of a cloudless day, smell the overripe flowers in the garden, watch amazed at the spectacle of a sudden rainstorm. A subtle sense of loss pervades Verandah People, but the overall impression is dreamlike-the fascinating characters are compassionately drawn, even as they watch the world go by from the "safety" of their verandahs. Praise for After Battersea Park: "It is the pull of the prose ... which will lure readers into this offbeat, surprisingly resonant novel." -Booklist
