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James Joyce da inicio a la modernidad de las letras irlandesas con la publicación de “Los muertos”, cuento que abre esta exhaustiva compilación de veinticinco relatos editada por Sinéad Mac Aodha y Jorge Fondebrider. Traducida por Matías Battistón, Pedro Serrano, Inés Garland, Andrés Ehrenhaus, Jan de Jager y el mismo Jorge Fondebrider, esta antología —en palabras de sus editores— tiene como única ambición que los lectores “descubran una nueva constelación de autores, que sepan algo que antes no sabían y que de esa forma encuentren conocimiento, compañía y consuelo”.

Das Vermächtnis und geniale Abschiedsgeschenk eines großen Schriftstellers William Trevors Erzählungen beleuchten die Abgründe menschlichen Daseins und werfen Licht auf Momente von existentieller Bedeutung. Da ist etwa das Mädchen, dessen tot geglaubte Mutter sich als höchst lebendig und kerngesund herausstellt. Oder die Klavierlehrerin, die die Diebstähle ihres Schülers stillschweigend hinnimmt, weil er so wunderbar spielt. Und der italienische Cafébesitzer in London, der sein Café nach der Frau benennt, die ihn verlassen hat. Einfühlsam, tiefgründig und mit stilistischer Raffinesse erzählt Trevor von den Leben ganz gewöhnlicher Menschen in einer Welt, in der das Glück vorübergehend und nur unter Vorbehalt zu genießen ist, in der die Vergangenheit die Gegenwart bestimmt und zufällige Begegnungen die Einsamkeit für einen Moment vertreiben können.

Alone together in a London hospital ward, four women take stock of their lives in this “deeply moving novel” by the award-winning author of The Old Boys (The New York Times). At forty-one, the news that she requires a hysterectomy strikes Elizabeth Aidallbery as something of a nonevent. But from her bed at Cheltenham Women's Hospital, the divorced mother of three comes to realize that she is at a crossroads. She meets two other women admitted for the same operation: Young Sylvie Clapper, who is preoccupied with her dishonest boyfriend; and poor Miss Samson, with her disfiguring birthmark, who runs a Christian boarding house. In the ward with them is Lily Drucker, determined to have a child despite insurmountable difficulties. With compassion and wry humor, these very different women share their lives, concerns, and regrets. Elizabeth faces a lonesome life that includes a childhood friend turned hapless suitor, and a teenage daughter who has run off to a commune. But there is a hard-won grace in the companionship these women find in Trevor's “finely observed, gently sensitive comedy” that is “delightful to read” (Daily Telegraph).

The “wryly entertaining” debut novel of old grudges and petty power struggles from the Whitbread Award–winning author of Love and Summer (The New York Times). Graduates of an elite English public school, the septuagenarian members of the Old Boys Association have convened in London to decide who shall be their next president. Mr. Jaraby has been proposed, and unless there is an objection from his circle of peers, he will assume the position automatically. It seems like little more than an excuse to get together and reminisce about old pranks played on the headmaster. But while none of their boyhood bonds have been forgotten, neither have their old cruelties been forgiven. Mr. Nox certainly remembers Jaraby's behavior from their time as schoolmates. And when he decides to oppose Jaraby for the presidency, the conflict unleashes decades of buried rivalries, regrets, failures, and the savage nature hidden just beneath good English manners. “The elemental value of Mr. Trevor's wryly entertaining story lies less in its grubby specifics than in its illuminating generalities. It reminds us that at every level of every society there are groups of Old Boys cocooned in smug insularity.” —The New York Times

The Whitbread Award–winning author “demonstrates a master's touch” in this tale of an aristocratic Irish family's ruinous path toward modernity (The New York Times). An island estate off the coast of county Cork, Carriglas has been in the Rolleston family for centuries. Sarah Pollexfen, a distant relation of little means, remembers the magical summer she spent there as a child in 1904. But much has changed in Ireland since then. And when Sarah returns nearly thirty years later, she finds Carriglas much changed as well. World War I and the Irish Troubles have taken their toll on the Rollestons. Sarah's cousins, who once seemed to sparkle with beauty and wit, have grown dour and withdrawn. And as Sarah uncovers the tragedies they've endured, she'll also discover the terrible truth about that seemingly idyllic summer in 1904.

A London boarding-house becomes a battle ground in this “dazzling display of character-led fiction” from the award-winning author of The Old Boys (The Independent). William Wagner Bird spent his life collecting lost souls—dispossessed immigrants, lonely old ladies, and the simply half-mad—to live in his London boarding-house. But when he dies, the true intent of his work is revealed in his diary. Bird had been watching them all closely, keeping notes on their sad and peculiar circumstances. And then there's the matter of his will, in which he leaves the house to the two tenants who most despise each other, the petty thief Mr. Studdy and the equally nasty Nurse Clock. In this “rhapsody to misanthropy” Whitbread Award winner William Trevor paints a fascinating group portrait of society's outcasts, each of whom sees their small life unravel “in a manner somewhere between Dubliners and Grimm's fairy tales” (The New York Times).

An Englishwoman is taken in by a duplicitous suitor in this “constantly surprising work” from the Whitbread Award–winning author of Love and Summer (John Updike, The New Yorker). Forty-seven-year-old widow Julia Ferndale can't believe her good luck—she's about to remarry. What's more, her fiancé, Francis Tyte, is a charming actor and magazine model fourteen years her junior. Her daughters are thrilled. Her mother is suspicious. But unfortunately for Julia, she keeps those suspicions to herself. After the wedding, Francis reveals a past that includes an abandoned wife, a mistress and child, and the many others he's used and left behind to deal with his wreckage. Finding herself suddenly added to their number, Julia is shocked out of her dream and onto a sobering journey that leads into the savage realities of the world. “Pungent with the sense of evil and corruption.” —John Updike, The New Yorker “All the gifts that were obvious in Mr. Trevor's earlier books are even more apparent here.... A book filled with narrative surprise and shrewd social observation, and has, in addition, an edge of genuine moral interest.” —The New York Times “Trevor is a master of both language and storytelling.” —Hilary Mantel on Felicia's Journey

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOKThe beloved and acclaimed William Trevor's last ten stories'The great Irish writer, who died in 2016 at the age of 88, captured turning points in individual lives with effective understatement. This seemingly quiet but ultimately volcanic collection is his final gift to us, and it is filled with action sprung from human feeling.'—The New York Times Book ReviewWith a career that spanned more than half a century, William Trevor is regarded as one of the best writers of short stories in the English language. Now, in Last Stories, the master storyteller delivers ten exquisitely rendered tales—nine of which have never been published in book form--that illuminate the human condition and will surely linger in the reader's mind long after closing the book. Subtle yet powerful, Trevor gives us insights into the lives of ordinary people. We encounter a tutor and his pupil, whose lives are thrown into turmoil when they meet again years later; a young girl who discovers the mother she believed dead is alive and well; and a piano-teacher who accepts her pupil's theft in exchange for his beautiful music. This final and special collection is a gift to lovers of literature and Trevor's many admirers, and affirms his place as one of the world's greatest storytellers.

Die schönsten Erzählungen vom unvergleichlichen'Bildhauer der Worte':'Sieht man den Roman als verwirrendes Renaissancegemälde, so ist die Kurzgeschichte wie ein impressionistisches Tableau: eine Explosion der Wahrheit sollte sie sein.'Was Wiliam Trevor hier leidenschaftlich einfordert, stellt er in seinen meisterhaften Erzählungen unter Beweis, deren Herzstück stets die Wahrhaftigkeit ist. So zum Beispiel in der bislang nie auf Deutsch erschienenen Geschichte vom blinden Klavierstimmer, dessen zweite Ehefrau sein Handicap schamlos ausnutzt. Oder der von dem Mädchen, das vom Tod seiner Mutter überzeugt ist, bis auf dem Schulhof zwei geheimnisvolle Frauen auftauchen. Und immer wieder hält uns der'melancholische Altmeister der irischen Literatur'vor Augen, dass wir dem Schicksal unerbittlich ausgeliefert sind.

Flüchtige Momentaufnahmen, dem Fluss der Zeit entrissene Episoden aus dem Leben verschiedener Menschen. Egal ob es sich um einen betrogenen Ehemann, ein behindertes Mädchen oder einen verkannten Künstler handelt - stets gibt es den einen Moment, der das Leben für immer verändert: eine unerwartete Begegnung, ein großes Ereignis, eine schwerwiegende Entscheidung. Trevors Geschichten zeigen von Mal zu Mal, dass es keinen Sinn hat, sich gegen das Schicksal aufzulehnen, dass die Suche nach Glück müßig, wenn auch allzu menschlich ist. »Mit der Genauigkeit eines Chirurgen und der Eloquenz eines Dichters präsentiert Trevor dem Leser die Nischen des menschlichen Herzens.« (Literary Review)

»Der unangefochtene Meister der Short Story.« Felicitas von Lovenberg, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Während Vanessa Ormston ihrem Mann das Frühstück macht, sieht sie mit Entsetzen einen Nachruf auf ihn in der Morgenzeitung. Sie ist hin- und hergerissen zwischen dem Wunsch, ihm die Schmach dieses schlechten Scherzes zu ersparen, und dem Bedürfnis, ihn vor der drohenden Häme seiner Professorenkollegen zu warnen. Es sind Konflikte wie dieser, die William Trevor in seinen Geschichten beschreibt: Momentaufnahmen außergewöhnlicher Situationen und Gefühle, die er auf unvergleichliche Weise und mit sparsamen literarischen Mitteln kraftvoll auszudrücken weiß. Egal ob es um den vermeintlichen Tod eines Professors geht oder um das Geheimnis dreier Menschen, die durch ein schreckliches Ereignis lebenslänglich aneinander gebunden sind, oder aber um ein junges Paar, das am Vorabend seiner Hochzeit plötzlich mit dem wahren Gesicht des jeweils anderen konfrontiert wird. »Der melancholische Altmeister der irischen Literatur« Süddeutsche Zeitung lehrt uns einmal mehr, dass es vor dem Schicksal kein Entrinnen gibt.

Sie treffen sich heimlich auf einem abgelegenen Anwesen. Bei Florian ruft Ellie Erinnerungen an seine frühere Jugendliebe wach, und Ellie lässt sich von seiner geheimnisvollen Ausstrahlung in den Bann ziehen. Mit einer Tschechow'schen Note von Verlust und Sehnsucht erzählt William Trevor eindringlich von der Liebe eines Sommers. Florian Kilderry hält sich im ländlichen Rathmoyes auf, um den Besitz seiner verstorbenen Eltern aufzulösen. Als er mit seiner Kamera die Gegend durchstreift, trifft er auf die Trauergäste einer Beerdigung, unter denen auch Ellie Dillahan ist. Der unabhängige Mann und die verheiratete Farmersfrau fühlen sich spontan zueinander hingezogen und treffen sich fortan heimlich. Ellie ist hin- und hergerissen zwischen ihrem eintönigen, aber sicheren Leben an der Seite ihres Mannes auf dem Hof und den Verlockungen, die der geheimnisvolle Unbekannte verheißt. Auch wenn sich die beiden in ihrem Geheimnis sicher wähnen, bleibt ihre Affäre von einigen Bewohnern Rathmoyes'nicht unbemerkt.'Mit der Genauigkeit eines Chirurgen und der Eloquenz eines Dichters präsentiert Trevor dem Leser die Nischen des menschlichen Herzens.'Literary Review

Vor vier Jahren saß Mallory noch gemeinsam mit seiner Frau in Harrys Bar in Venedig. Inzwischen ist ihre Krankheit so weit vorangeschritten, dass sie ihn zuweilen nicht einmal mehr erkennt. Die einzige Brücke zwischen ihnen ist das Canasta-Spiel, bei dem er sie absichtlich gewinnen lässt, um ihr einen Augenblick des Glücks zu bescheren. Es sind Momentaufnahmen wie diese, die William Trevor immer wieder auf unvergleichliche Weise einzufangen versteht. Dabei stellt er die unterschiedlichsten Menschen in den Mittelpunkt seiner Erzählungen. Mal sind es Halbstarke, die in ihrem Geltungswahn jedes Maß verlieren, mal zwei Erwachsene, die es für eine gute Idee halten, eine Patchworkfamilie zu gründen, aber an ihren Kindern scheitern; dann wieder gerät eine alte Frau in einen quälenden Konflikt, weil sie gegen den Willen ihres sterbenden Mannes dem Wunsch ihrer Nachkommen zustimmt, Heim und Hof zu verkaufen. Ob es um Liebe, Familie, Tod oder den Widerstreit zwischen Tradition und Moderne geht: Stets erzählt Trevor in seinen tief bewegenden Geschichten über die Zerbrechlichkeit des Glücks.'Der unangefochtene Meister der Short Story.'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'Ein souveräner Erzähler und Stilist.'Süddeutsche Zeitung

It?s summer and nothing much is happening in Rathmoye. So it doesn?t go unnoticed when a dark-haired stranger appears on his bicycle and begins photographing the mourners at Mrs. Connulty?s funeral. Florian Kilderry couldn?t know that the Connultys are said to own half the town: he has only come to Rathmoye to photograph the scorched remains of its burnt- out cinema. A few miles out in the country, Dillahan, a farmer and a decent man, has married again: Ellie is the young convent girl who came to work for him when he was widowed. Ellie leads a quiet, routine life, often alone while Dillahan runs the farm. Florian is planning to leave Ireland and start over. Ellie is settled in her new role as Dillahan?s wife. But Florian?s visit to Rathmoye introduces him to Ellie, and a dangerously reckless attachment begins. In a characteristically masterly way Trevor evokes the passions and frustrations felt by Ellie and Florian, and by the people of a small Irish town during one long summer.

'William Trevor ist einzigartig - unbeirrbar darin, das Gewöhnliche und Vertraute immer wieder verblüffend und neu erscheinen zu lassen.'The Irish Times In allerletzter Sekunde kann Captain Gault einen Brandanschlag auf sein Gut in Lahardane vereiteln. Dennoch kommen er und seine englische Frau Heloise zu dem Schluss, dass es höchste Zeit ist, das unsichere Irland zu verlassen. Ganz anderer Meinung ist ihre achtjährige Tochter Lucy. Sie liebt ihr Zuhause und kann sich ein Leben jenseits der Wälder, Felder und langen Strände von Lahardane nicht vorstellen. Nachdem all ihre Proteste nicht fruchten, greift Lucy zum letzten Mittel: Am Vorabend der unwiderruflich beschlossenen Abfahrt reißt sie aus, um das Unabänderliche doch noch zu verhindern. Ein Ereignis, dessen Folgen die Gaults in eine Katastrophe stürzen und ihr Leben von nun an schicksalhaft bestimmen. In seinem Roman spiegelt der große irische Schriftsteller Trevor nicht nur das Irland der 1920er Jahre wider, in dem ein Ende der feindlichen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Protestanten und Katholiken, zwischen Arm und Reich nicht abzusehen ist. Er erzählt auch eine tief melancholische Geschichte von verpassten Gelegenheiten und Missverständnissen, die das Leben der Lucy Gault zu einer Tragödie machen. Ein Roman wie ein Requiem.

Una relación perfecta confirma a William Trevor como el maestro absoluto del relato, capaz de dibujar con toda elocuencia y la mayor economía de medios la cara dramática de nuestra existencia. Casi sin excepción, William Trevor está considerado uno de los mejores narradores de nuestro tiempo. Este nuevo libro de relatos -después de La historia de Lucy Gault y Verano y amor, tercera obra de Trevor publicada por Salamandra- es la brillante demostración de su fértil y conmovedor universo literario, pues pocos como el escritor irlandés son capaces de narrar con tanta exactitud la complejísima topografía de la conducta humana. Desde un hombre que regresa a Venecia para cumplir la promesa que hizo a su esposa, perdida en el mundo sin recuerdos del Alzheimer, hasta una mujer que observa cómo su marido se prepara para reunirse por última vez con su amante, las historias de este libro hablan de oportunidades perdidas. De las trampas de la memoria, arbitraria y fragmentaria; de los secretos que sofocamos; de los sueños a los que nos aferramos; de las consecuencias que pueden tener, años después, unas palabras no pronunciadas. Los relatos de William Trevor esconden un cuidado mecanismo para revelar los rincones más recónditos del laberinto del deseo, y transmiten una especial melancolía, teñida de humor. La crítica ha dicho... «¿Qué queda por decir de William Trevor excepto repetir la evidencia de que es el maestro indiscutible de la narrativa? Sus relatos muestran una facilidad para hablar de espacios en la mente y el corazón humanos que está fuera del alcance de la mayoría de los escritores.» The Times «¿Cómo explicar el milagro de William Trevor? Ha conservado su asombro y curiosidad hacia la humanidad, por sus esperanzas, sus pecados y sus fallos.» The Irish Times «Magistral [...] Estos cuentos permanecen en la memoria mucho tiempo después de su lectura.» The New York Times «Un narrador y estilista soberano.» Süddeutsche Zeitung «Su hermosa y sobria prosa es un pequeño milagro. Estos relatos figuran entre los mejores de Trevor.» Irish Independent «Ningún otro escritor vivo domina el cuento como William Trevor.» The Literary Review «Estos relatos, igual que los de Chejov -la comparación es casi inevitable-, dejan espacio para que el lector piense, y de esta forma consiguen su objetivo, que es subrayar la naturaleza solitaria, la impenetrabilidad, de la experiencia individual.» Anita Brookner, The Spectator

William Trevor's Last Stories is forthcoming from Viking.In Reading Turgenev, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, an Irish country girl is trapped in a loveless marriage with an older man, but finds release through secret meetings with a man who shares her passion for Russian novels.My House in Umbra tells of Emily Delahunty, a writer of romantic novels, who helps survivors of a bomb attack on a train to convalesce, inventing colorful pasts for her patients.Two novels, two women who retreat further into the realm of the imagination until the boundaries between what is real and what is not become blurred.

Esta historia de amor, ambientada en una pequeña población de Irlanda durante un verano de finales de los años cincuenta, ha sido clasificada por la crítica anglosajona como «obra de arte perfecta» y «obra maestra». El destino parece haber dictado que Ellie y Dillahan se hayan convertido en marido y mujer. Criada en un orfanato, la joven Ellie es enviada a servir a la granja de Dillahan, donde se encuentra a un hombre que arrastra el sufrimiento de haber perdido a su esposa y a su hijo recién nacido en un extraño accidente. No obstante, ya sea fruto del azar o la necesidad, la vida de la pareja transcurre ordenada y tranquila hasta que, un día de verano, la aparición de Florian, un veinteañero melancólico que está ultimando la venta de la casa de sus padres, despierta las emociones dormidas de Ellie. La pasión, repentina e irrefrenable, empuja a la joven Ellie hacia una turbadora relación con Florian, que afectará incluso a algunos habitantes del pueblo hasta desembocar en un desenlace sorprendente. La prosa sobria y luminosa de Trevor retrata con precisión fotográfica los detalles más reveladores de la vida cotidiana de unos personajes indefectiblemente ligados al entorno y al momento histórico que les ha tocado vivir, creando una historia de amor acorde con los más altos cánones de excelencia literaria y estética. La crítica ha dicho... «El gran escritor irlandés William Trevor otorga a lo nimio una importancia vital hasta formar un complejo y exquisito tapiz en el que cada vida depende y modifica a las otras. [...] Una de las más perfectas historias de amor de nuestro tiempo.» Alberto Manguel, Babelia «Prosa elegante y perfecta administración del tempo dramático de un grande entre los grandes. [...] Una historia triste a la hora de escribirla que nos hace tan, pero tan felices a la hora de leerla.» Rodrigo Fresán, ABC Cultural «Una historia de amor acorde con los más altos cánones de excelencia literaria y estética.» Fernando Pérez Pacho, Última hora «Una hermosa y fascinante novela. Una historia de amor narrada con compasión y tristeza [...]. La sensibilidad moral y estética de Trevor sobrepasa a la de la mayoría de los escritores contemporáneos.» The Times

A marvelous collection from'the greatest living writer of short stories in the English language'(The New Yorker). Four-time winner of the O. Henry Prize, three-time winner of the Whitbread Prize, and five-time finalist for the Man Booker Prize, William Trevor is one of the most acclaimed authors of our time. Over a career spanning more than half a century, Trevor has crafted exquisitely rendered tales that brilliantly illuminate the human condition. Bringing together forty-eight stories from After Rain, The Hill Bachelors, A Bit on the Side, and Cheating at Canasta, this second volume of Trevor's collected fiction offers readers'treasures of gorgeous writing, brilliant dialogue, and unforgettable lives'(The New York Times Book Review).

William Trevor's Last Stories is forthcoming from Viking.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.

Penguin Classics is proud to welcome William Trevor—'Ireland's answer to Chekhov'(The Boston Globe) and'one of the best writers of our era'(The Washington Post)—to our distinguished list of literary masters. In this award-winning novel, an informer's body is found on the estate of a wealthy Irish family shortly after the First World War, and an appalling cycle of revenge is set in motion. Led by a zealous sergeant, the Black and Tans set fire to the family home, and only young Willie and his mother escape alive. Fatherless, Willie grows into manhood while his alcoholic mother's bitter resentment festers. And though he finds love, Willie is unable to leave the terrible injuries of the past behind.First time in Penguin ClassicsWinner of the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award

William Trevor's Last Stories is forthcoming from Viking.In these twelve stories, a waiter divulges a shocking life of crime to his ex-wife; a woman repeats the story of her parents'unstable marriage after a horrible tragedy; a schoolgirl regrets gossiping about the cuckolded man who tutors her; and, in the volume's title story, a middle-aged accountant offers his reasons for ending a love affair. At the heart of this stunning collection is Trevor's characteristic tenderness and unflinching eye for both the humanizing and dehumanizing aspects of modern urban and rural life.

'The Story of Lucy Gault... once read, will never be forgotten.'—The Washington Post Book World'Trevor was our twentieth century Chekov.'—Wall Street JournalThe stunning novel from highly acclaimed author William Trevor is a brilliant, subtle, and moving story of love, guilt, and forgiveness. The Gault family leads a life of privilege in early 1920s Ireland, but the threat of violence leads the parents of nine-year-old Lucy to decide to leave for England, her mother's home. Lucy cannot bear the thought of leaving Lahardane, their country house with its beautiful land and nearby beach, and a dog she has befriended. On the day before they are to leave, Lucy runs away, hoping to convince her parents to stay. Instead, she sets off a series of tragic misunderstandings that affect all of Lahardane's inhabitants for the rest of their lives.

A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book From the winner of the 1999 David Cohen British Literature Prize comes an unforgettably chilling novel, written with the compassion and artistry that define Trevor's fiction. There were three deaths that summer. The first was Letitia's, sudden and quite unexpected, leaving her husband, Thaddeus, haunted by the details of her last afternoon. The next death came some weeks later, after Thaddeus's mother-in-law helped him to interview for a nanny to bring up their baby. None of the applicants were suitable—least of all the last one, with her sharp features, her shabby clothes that reeked of cigarettes, her badly typed references—so Letitia's mother moved herself in. But then, just as the household was beginning to settle down, the last of the nannies surprisingly returned, her unwelcome arrival heralding the third of the summer tragedies. “William Trevor is an extraordinarily mellifluous writer, seemingly incapable of composing an ungraceful sentence.... His skill is very real, and equals his great compassion. With Death in Summer, these two qualities combine in a beautiful and resonant way.”—The New York Time Book Review “Possibly the most perfect of Trevor's novels... Astonishing.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “Beautifully paced and mesmerizing... Offering us a compelling mystery on many levels through... finely drawn, perfect glimpses of touchingly imperfect lives.”—The Washington Post Book World Nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize

A collection of short stories from celebrated author William Trevor in which he shines a light on the day-to-day life of Ireland and its citizens. From his debut collection, “The Day We Got Drunk on Cake,” published in 1968, to “Family Sins” (1990), William Trevor has crafted the short story to perfection, giving us brilliant and subtle stories full of the reversals, surprises, and shadowy truths we discover in life itself. To read this volume is not just to encounter an extraordinary literary stylist, but to understand life as surely as though we were looking through the eyes of his protagonists and—deeper still—into their hearts.William Trevor: The Collected Stories includes the tales from his seven previous books, as well as four stories that have never appeared in book form in America. They depict the comforts and frustrations of life in rural Ireland, the complexities of family relationships, and the elusive grace of love. They portray the almost invisible strands that bind people to each other as well as the chains that imprison them in solitary yearning.

'There is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world.'—Wall Street JournalTwelve remarkable stories by the master storyteller William Trevor. In this collection of twelve dazzling, acutely rendered tales, William Trevor plumbs the depths of the human heart. Here we encounter a blind piano tuner whose wonderful memories of his first wife are cruelly distorted by his second; a woman in a difficult marriage who must choose between her indignant husband and her closest friend; two children, survivors of divorce, who mimic their parents'melodramas; and a heartbroken woman traveling alone in Italy who experiences an epiphany while studying a forgotten artist's Annunciation. Trevor is, in his own words,'a storyteller. My fiction may, now and again, illuminate aspects of the human condition, but I do not consciously set out to do so.'Conscious or not, he touches us in ways that few writers even dare to try. Trevor wrote eighteen novels and novellas, and hundreds of short stories, for which he has won a number of prizes including the Hawthornden Prize, the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award, the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and the David Cohen Literature Prize in recognition of a lifetime's literary achievement. In 2002 he was knighted for his services to literature.