In the following excerpts from a longer article about the collection of stories in which "Shiloh" appears, Wilhelm presents his view of the interrelated themes of social change and personal identity in "Shiloh."

She grew up on a small dairy farm in rural Kentucky. A few years later she had migrated to New York City and was writing features on Fabian, Annette Funicello, and Ann-Margaret for Movie Life magazine. As a child her favorite reading materials were Nancy Drew and other girl sleuth mysteries. As a young woman she published a scholarly study of Nabokov's Ada.

Given these divergent circumstances of her own life, It is hardly surprising that Bobbie Ann Mason should be interested in culture shock and its Jarring effects on an individual's sense of identity. This theme dominates the sixteen pieces in Shiloh and Other Stories, her major work of fiction which was nominated...