Gardeners in Paradise sports a beautiful cover photograph by C. L. Hunter of a terraced garden overlooking the sea. There are also very fine black and white photos at the beginning of each story. But don't mistake this for a gardening book. It's a collection of 12 stories exuding powerful emotions, with an occasional foray into the surreal. My favorite is a magical story, "The Passion of Vikings", where a man buys a beautiful boat only to discover that a mysterious woman and child are part of the deal. In "Doc Almost", a desperately lonely man who works with the mentally challenged makes a connection, however fleeting, with an equally lonely woman. In "The Trapper", there is a telling line of universal significance: "We don't know when we become our fathers." Another touching story is "Rain Forest Dreams", in which two old friends meet in Vancouver; one is driving a taxi, raising money for the half-assed restaurant he operates during tourist season in Honduras, the other, a drifter, makes a connection with a prostitute, that he mistakes for love, and will almost certainly result in heartbreak. In "Finca Days", a couple first dreams of owning a coffee plantation, then decides to buy a small hotel; both are pipe dreams as, in spite of warnings, he is oblivious to the dangerous political climate in Guatemala. This is a diversified and altogether winning collection.