'Visceral, incandescent stories' NEW YORK TIMES 'One of Australia's finest writers' OBSERVER 'Exacting, airtight . Garner's stylistic range dazzles' JONATHAN ESCOFFERY A woman sends postcards to her lover from the sun-soaked Gold Coast. A chorus of hometown voices gossip about a wayward friend returned. A young girl, limping around with her foot stuck through a bucket, discovers a hidden box of horrors. Helen Garner is best known for her frank, unsparing portraits of Australian life. This collection of her short fiction bursts with the joys and sorrows of ordinary days and nights, explores what it means to be a stranger, and illuminates the events - no matter how small - that have the power to transform us. Each one is a perfect piece, but together they showcase the fearless, flinty brilliance of Garner's inimitable literary voice. A W&N Essential.