rev. of Lucky Girls by Nell Freudenberger

Lucky Girls, stories by Nell Freudenberger (Ecco): It seems impossible that a writer of Freudenberger's youth could know so much about the world, but she does. The five long stories in this first book—mostly about young American women who are living as expatriates in Bangkok, Delhi, Bombay—crackle with acuity and authenticity. The narration doesn't miss a step, particularly in the inventive final story, in the form of a college-application essay by a seventeen-year-old girl, that traces the life and works of a famous Vietnam-era novelist. This is a remarkable collection. —Don Lee