Berriault began to publish her fiction in the late 1950s, earning the praise of a few critics and the loyalty of a small but devoted group of readers. Her stories and novels portray a wide range of characters, but share a concern with situations of isolation and loss and themes contrasting subjective and objective views of the world. Some early reviewers found her writing too gloomy and criticized her novels for their lack of narrative momentum, but she was also admired for her ability to create complex, believable characters and to plumb the depths of the human heart. Her short stories, in particular, were singled out for their precise form and deep feeling. Berriault continued to write for over forty years in relative obscurity. She had the dubious honor of being viewed as a "writer's writer"—admired by her literary peers and considered by them...