The definitive collection of short stories by a master of the form and one of Ireland's most celebrated authors This indispensable volume contains the best of Frank O'Connor's short fiction. From "Guests of the Nation" to "The Mad Lomasneys" to "First Confession" to "My Oedipus Complex," these tales of Ireland have touched generations of readers the world over and placed O'Connor alongside W. B. Yeats and James Joyce as the greatest of Irish authors....

With the profound maturity and exquisite eye for detail that never failed to capture readers of her prize-winning novels, Carol Shields dazzles with these remarkable stories. Generous, delightful, and acutely observed, this essential collection illuminates the miracles that grace our lives; it will continue to enchant for years to come.

A collection of short fiction from the groundbreaking essayist, novelist, and political activist includes allegories and parables as she wrestles with topics that made up her private sorrows and fears. "Susan Sontag was one of our foremost public intellectuals, a world-renowned essayist, playwright, novelist, activist, and director. Her name is surpassed only by her immense and invaluable body of work. Debriefing collects all of Sontag's shorter...

Only seven of these short stories have ever been collected in a book, but all twenty-six unveil and re-create the manic flux of our society. Whether set in New England, Los Angeles, New York or the South, they capture various stages of adulthood, from early to budding to entrenched to resentful: a young man confronting the class system at a summer resort; a young woman holed up in a remote cabin while her (married) boyfriend campaigns for the highest...