Jan 1, 2010

The English Pupil | Critical Overview

Reviewers were generous in their praise of Barrett's collection of eight short stories, Ship Fever and Other Stories (1996), in which "The English Pupil" appeared. Donna Seaman in Booklist comments that Barrett "has used science as a conduit to understanding the human psyche…. [Her] stories are precise and concentrated, containing a truly remarkable wealth of psychology and social commentary." The reviewer for Publishers Weekly makes a similar point: "The quantifiable truths of science intersect with the less easily measured precincts of the heart in these eight...