|summary=A beautiful, touching book of short stories laying out the human condition for examination with such language and insight that it will become a treasured companion rather than a collation of bound pages.
|cover=0099565455
|aznuk=0099565455
|aznus=B008VRFHYI
}}
Irish novelist Joseph O'Connor has had quite a 2012. Earlier in the year he joined the ranks of such authors as Edna O'Brien, [[:Category:Roddy Doyle|Roddy Doyle]] and Seamus Heaney when he became a recipient of the PEN award for his outstanding contribution to Irish literature. What could possibly top that for a sense of achievement? Well this, his first book of short stories in 20 years, must come pretty close to at least equalling it, amply illustrating the reasons for the panel's decision.