<p><b>A landmark event: the collected stories of ''one of the greatest writers of our era'' (Hilary Mantel) and ''the Irish novelist everyone should read'' (Colm T¿ib¿.</b><br><br><b>''Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.''</b> David Mitchell<br><b>''I have admired, even loved, John McGahern''s work since his first novel</b><b>.''</b> Melvyn Bragg<br><b>''Gentle, lyrical, an amorist of language, a natural historian of the soul.''</b><i>Irish Times</i><br><b>''Exquisite stories . . . Here is a Dublin of tatty dancehalls and uneasy courtships, of kisses in damp doorways and unfulfilled hungerings . . . Writing of extraordinary beauty.''</b><i>Guardian</i></p>