Not a Chance

Ranging in location from St.-Germain and Mexico City to a coldy bucolic New England, these individually-wrapped dreams record the struggle of contemporary consciousness for placement and connection. Treat's narrators - American, female, mostly single - are cultural refugees given to obsession and passionate longing. In the complex title story, a woman attempts to imagine her friend's love affair, succeeding with such vividness that woman and friend begin to merge. In "Radio Disturbance" a character gradually becomes so attached to her therapist's voice that she insinuates herself into the woman's home. These are haunting, intricately textured fictions that will lift you high above familiar ground.

"As she continues to blend dark humor with darker obsessions, Treat may find herself in a unique position among current women writers: lighter than A.M. Homes, darker than Lorrie Moore. Not a Chance shimmers with smart, poignant prose."

-San Diego Union Tribune