...Kalpakian finds an immediacy and honesty in both her descriptions and dialogue. In the first part of the book, characters speak either to deliver convenient, condensed life stories or espouse equally bite-sized personal mythology. But Kalpakian grasps the language of recovery and wields it shrewdly....In its final chapters, STEPS AND EXES reveals itself to be wiser and clearer-eyed than the reader suspected at the beginning. Rather than unite all the characters in a big love- fest of forgiveness, Kalpakian leaves room for doubt.... Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.