Synopsis
A new collection from “the greatest living writer of short stories in the English language” (The New Yorker)
The publication of a new book by William Trevor is a true literary event. One of our finest chroniclers of the human condition, Trevor's precise and unflinching insights into the lives of ordinary people are evidenced once again in this stunning collection of twelve stories. Subtle yet powerful, these exquisitely nuanced tales of regret, deception, adultery, aging, and forgiveness are a rare pleasure, and they confirm Trevor's reputation as a master of the form. From a chance encounter between two childhood friends to memories of a newly widowed man to a family grappling with the sale of ancestral land, Trevor examines with grace and skill the tenuous bonds of our relationships, the strengths that hold us together, and the truths that threaten to separate us.
The Barnes & Noble Review
As a writer, William Trevor long ago achieved the status of "beloved," which just goes to show you how strange the heart is. His preoccupations, after all, are loss, loneliness, waste, isolation, estrangement, betrayal, cruelty, adultery, sexual predation, murder, death, and, on the bright side, endurance and grinding expiation. He is a master at creating an air of menace, and his humor, now increasingly subterranean, is mordant. His novels are very fine, in some cases great, but the short story -- not a popular form -- is his true domain. Here he has no living equal in English.