A young girl gets an unexpected glimpse into her father's past. A married woman tries to release her homebound sister after the death of their mother. The audience at a piano recital receives a transforming surprise. These early stories conjure ordinary lives with an extraordinary vision, displaying the remarkable talent for which writer Alice Munro is celebrated.
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE(R) IN LITERATURE 2013

In these fifteen short stories--her eighth collection of short stories in a long and distinguished career--Alice Munro conjures ordinary lives with an extraordinary vision, displaying the remarkable talent for which she is now widely celebrated. Set on farms, by river marshes, in the lonely towns and new suburbs of western Ontario, these tales are luminous acts of attention to those vivid moments when revelation emerges from the layers of experience that lie behind even the most everyday events and lives.

"Virtuosity, elemental command, incisive like a diamond, remarkable: all these descriptions fit Alice Munro."--Christian Science Monitor

"How does one know when one is in the grip of art--of a major talent?....It is art that speaks from the pages of Alice Munro's stories."--Wall Street Journal