Piece train

Very readable collection of novellas unified by seasoned writer's keen observations.

- BY NICHOLAS REID

Here are four novellas by a master of nuance. Elizabeth Smither, seasoned short-story writer, novelist and poet, writes her novellas with such detail that we can accept each as having the fullness of a novel.

The Glass-Sided Hearse gives us two women who are both poets. Lissy is ageing, in the shadow of cancer and ironically accepting her tumour as a cat on her shoulder. But she is famous, widely admired, still able to capture an audience, and has won many awards.

Kate is much younger, doing well as a poet and often appearing at readings. She admires Lissy, but she knows she does not have the kudos Lissy has.

This is definitely not a story of mean jealousy. Smither looks deeply into the different perceptions of each poet and how each has been moulded by the different eras in which they have grown. This is as much a work of psychology as it is a study in friendship.

Set in Tasmania,