Three short stories (``Bala's Dream,'' ``Green Earth Mother,'' and ``The Final Myth'') and one novella (``Red Ivy'') make up this thin volume. All the stories deal with women's difficulties, especially with men. Some are rather overblown, surreal fantasies, some realistic, but all portray the seamy, unpleasant side of life in China. Although the style is often engrossing if overwrought, the emotionally charged characters seem remote and strange despite their hypersensitivity. Popular in China before she became a dissident, Ai now lives in exile in the United States. She is an important contemporary stylist who deserves to be heard.-- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y.