Marriage, the family, cultural and political historical heroes, advanced age, and the middle-American experience are the principal matters of social concern in the stories of Quicker Than the Eye.

In nine of the stories marriage or the relationship of a couple is a major element. Four of the couples are genuinely in love, either in a traditionally romantic sense ("Hopscotch" and "At the End of the Ninth Year"), or bound by a hatred so serious that it has the passion of love ("The Very Gentle Murders"). In four stories the couple is the axis of a family, usually with a boy and girl as children. In these families, however, there is almost never a representation of sensitive understanding between a parent and a child.

The families are, rather, sociologically defined moral constructs. They are the place where childhood and the beginning of self occur. In this...