taut

Unlike so many sprawling family sagas, “Bug Hollow” is taut and compressed; the novel jumps across time and space in short, sharp chapters stripped of sentiment.

In the mirror it was massive, taut and discolored.

Goode’s painterly retort — still lifes that held the abstract and the figurative in taut equilibrium — brilliantly neutralized that argument, while adding depth to the object/image dichotomy.

Ritter routinely ramps up the intrigue and drama, such as in one taut scene where Liz scrolls through someone’s phone for clues — and is forced to think on the spot when caught in the act.

Where the flesh of a fresh summer tomato gives way easily — its smooth, taut skin snapping like a helium balloon to release a flood of sun-warmed juice — a sun-dried tomato resists.