The women in Acts of Contrition face society's devaluation, from parents, from elders, from all who assume authority over them. They battle oppressions as simple as gender stereotyping, as complex as prerequisites to friendship or love. Some can look back and laugh, some find luck in their escape from harm, some engineer their own good fortune, all the while riding a wave of dark humor. What all the characters come to understand is that silence places them at greater risk than speaking out. They progress toward freedom through the telling of their stories.

Act of Contrition focuses on the intimate relationship between Regina, a widow, and Michael, a young doctor whose wife left him for another man. Having found happiness in one another, they desire nothing more than to be together. Yet in the eyes of the Catholic Church, Michael is not free to divorce his wife and marry Regina. In an emotional climax Regina must decide if she loves Michael enough to give him up or if she'll force him to choose between her and God. By modern standards, Giles's love scenes are tasteful, and the general atmosphere of ecumenism within today's Catholic Church renders moot many of the tensions in the novel. Yet in 1957 Giles's agent and publisher feared the work would cause "irreparable harm" to her reputation. As late as 1972 Giles was revising in the hopes of seeing the novel published. Finally her wish is fulfilled. Janice Holt Giles (1905-1979), author of nineteen books, lived and wrote near Knifley, Kentucky, for thirty-four years. Her biography is Janice Holt Giles: A Writer's Life.

The author of these nine stories teaches fiction writing at Penn State U., and his work has been published in various journals, including The MacGuffin, Flipside, and The Ligourian. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This is the autobiography of a surgeon who began life in the Bronx, New York. His colorful memoirs describe his childhood and education, and critically analyze scientific contributions in vascular disease, shock and treatment of impotence. He describes what it was like do general practice in the Bronx along with experiences in New York City; in Seville, Spain as a young Air Force Officer; residency and practice in Cleveland, Ohio; Reno, Nevada; and Washington DC. Dr. De Palma reflects upon life in rapidly changing times as well as responsibilities and uncertainties that exist in academic medicine and research.

In masterful tales of coming of age and becoming marginalized during the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath, Pablo La Rosa nostalgically looks back at a childhood spent by the seaside and creates a mosaic of poignant experiences seen through the glaring lens of race and exile. Neither the advantages of race or education, however, can exempt the disoriented protagonist from their perceived loss of homeland, integrity, identity. In the masterful ñEl Marielito,î La Rosa captures the bewilderment of a black man, marginalized by his race and circumstances in pre and post revolutionary Cuba and during his exile in the United States. Equally on the margin in spite of the advantages of education and race, a Cuban college student can relate only to a Russian janitor; though they share no common language they wordlessly share a longing for their lost homelands. La Rosa exhibits a penchant for the whimsical and experimental in homage to Latin American masters Jose Donoso, Carlos Fuentes, and Julio Cortàzar. His stylistic journey takes us from the magically real to psychological suspense and adventure. La RosaÍs masterful pen captivates our imagination and projects the reader into the souls of his characters.