Agony & ecstasy

racey Slaughter is an academic and a poet as well as a writer of fiction, and all three aspects contribute to the nature of this collection. In a recent radio interview, she mentioned Marguerite Duras as among her most important influences, and obviously the French writer’s fearless and assertive female voice appeals to her. Of men, Duras said with wry ambivalence, “You have to be very fond of them to love