The first collection of stories by the great master of the short story form, Raymond Carver.

In the title story a man starts to suspect his wife has been unfaithful to him and his delicate grip on normality begins to disintegrate. In 'Fat' a waitress at a diner is changed by the large man she serves. In each story in this collection ordinary characters reveal themselves, sounding and feeling as real as living, breathing humans. Carver's magnificently simple prose gives us mini worlds with great power, as full of pain, heart and feeling as real life. This, his first collection, transformed the American short story.

'Carver has made himself the natural successor to his true mentor, Chekhov' Financial Times

'Carver is a master of the clear, sharp, resonant detail' Daily Telegraph

'Carver's stories conjure up a quality of fellow feeling which gives the stories a compelling, dry-eyed poignancy, a melancholy but intensely moving authenticity' William Boyd