Baker writes beautiful, entertaining stories. Though there are highs and lows throughout this book, each story was thought provoking and amusing. You can't get too comfortable (read: bored) while reading these stories- Baker always keeps you wondering where she will take her characters next. Great beginnings of the stories help catch your attention, and the ride through the rest of the story until you reach the end where everything comes together is a fun one you won't soon forget. This collection of short stories is definately worth a read.

Alison Baker is to the surprise beginning what O Henry was to the surprise ending. "Benny Sarver knows what's going on in the lab where they clone babies out of one-eyed frogs." "The summer is so hot there's a spontaneous human combustion on the South Side." The stories that follow are eccentric, ironic, minimalist tales, which basically involve two pairs of human partners or a human couple and animals. The animals include bears, flamingos, deer, African bullfrogs and even dogs. The people are cowboys, ornithologists, Mormons, biochemists, gymnasts and cheerleaders. Quite delightful. One quibble is about the representation of Indian English. I am knowing many Indian doctors and and never I am hearing the continuous present. I am thinking this is how Americans are thinking Indians are talking.

Voices of Resistance is an incredibly rich account of the role that Moroccan women played within the nationalist movement against French colonial rule. It is a collection of oral histories divided into two parts. The first concerns the Nationalist women, who were largely upper class and from Fez, and the second concerns women in the armed resistance movement. Although including both sets of women is a strength of the book, the author does not delve deep enough into the differences between their situations-- differences based largely on class. Voices of Resistance is still a very interesting read, although I wish the author had dealt more carefully with some of the theoretical issues she faced, including her own position as a Western woman writing about Morocco. The book is very informative for those who do not know much about Moroccan history. For those who do, it is still interesting, but less useful.