Twenty-two short pieces, all self-contained, variously set in Texas, Chicago, and Mexico, mostly from the 1960s to the late 1980s (with one exception, “Eyes of Zapata,” which takes place in the early years of the twentieth century) comprise “Woman Hollering Creek” and Other Stories. Characters narrate all but three or four of the stories, and these voices vary from that of a five-or- six-year-old girl to that of an elderly man. Several of the pieces are only a page or two long; the two longest, “Eyes of Zapata” and “Bien Pretty,” are each about 29 pages. Most of the stories are non-traditional in structure, following a non-linear shape in which the narrator “circles” around her or his topic, examining it from various angles and in various times. Those that do follow a conventionally linear pattern tend to flatten that pattern ironically. All of the pieces are serious; many are very funny, too.
