Mary Gaitskill's range is limited, but her work is nevertheless important, as she deals with subjects that are frequently ignored in serious American fiction. Her fundamental theme is relational connection and maneuvering between "bohemian" single women and men whereby they seek, if sometimes narcissistically, to locate that mysterious moment when sex and love so infrequently come together. Although Gaitskill's women are often as inept and confused as men in her work, men often define the terms of relationships-- because of power, broader insensitivities, and less interest in lasting relationships. Gaitskill's work is important largely because she confronts urban realities with a sharp-eyed and sometimes satirical empathy for the complexity of her characters, some of whom are victims of their pasts and consequent foolish decisions based on inexperience.

Mary Lawrence Gaitskill was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on 11 November 1954 to Lawrence Russell and Dorothy Jane Mayer Gaitskill. She grew up...