Bookworm

While most of the characters you''ll meet in these pages are far from perfect, and, with all their anxieties, foibles and frailties, a world away from being heroic, they are recognisably human. What they lack in polish or perfection they more than abundantly make up for in inconspicuous generosity and modesty, much too often under-appreciated for the ramifications these quieter graces have on those around them. This is a collection of stories of varying tonalities, spanning an emotional range comprising anything from the gentle ''My Uncle Dom'' to the light and playful ''Reversal'', the humorous and, at times, outrageously farcical ''Dimblewit'' to the absurd, even grotesque ''The Bookworm'', and again, the dark and disturbing ''The Visitation''. Two pieces among this collection of seven stories, ''Artist'' and ''A Brass Razoo'', present us with portraits particularly Australian.