In each of the three novellas an unnamed energy threatens to erupt. In
Gastarbeiter a young man's honor compels him to take the wheel of a
gigantic eighteen-wheeler for the first time in his life. You can drive
unless you don't think you can, are the words of the experienced driver
before he hands over and falls asleep, and the young man's spirit is
tested to the limit. Tourist Attraction is about a Jordanian salesman
who sells more onyx eggs and plaster Davids than anyone else in the San
Lorenzo market of Florence. It is there that he finds that marriage to
an American tourist is not necessarily the best way to get to Los
Angeles. Thornley brilliantly conveys the tensions which breed in a
French anarchist commune, as natural shocks and human temperaments
intrude on the mindless preparations for winter in Jewels. Richard
Thornley maintains a masterful restraint and has a marvelous ear for the
odd communications that can take place between people of different
cultures. Zig-Zag is filled with a descriptive gift that is startling
and a style that makes one want to read more.