`As a fiction writer, Hensher has virtuosity on tap, so every page delivers something enjoyable and even eye-popping; a vibrant exchange, a spry description, a tickling bit of indirect speech' New Statesman `Entertainingly varied stories ... Hensher sneaks into a life like a cat burglar, pads around to survey the scene and slips out again, leaving everything quietly disturbed' Literary Review `Thomas Mann-like in its homoerotic undertones and high-flown hymns to unrequited love but a good deal funnier ... Hensher is deft at locating the moment of crisis when a character experiences a change of heart or a nasty surprise, and life is exposed in all its drab wonder ... Entertainingly varied in tone and setting, the stories combine quaint physical observation with a caustic intelligence' Evening Standard `Elegant stories that radiate with fine human feeling inspired by altogether muddled lives ... Hensher's prose can be painterly' Financial Times 'Hensher has a pitch-perfect way with language and invented detail' Sunday Times `A comedy of manners with an occasional dark side' Daily Telegraph `A delightful read, full of beauty and humour' The Herald `He is an expert writer, and an expert tone runs through this vigorous collection. Hensher observes all human life with the detachment of a scientist ... He nails lust, hypocrisy, regret and hopefulness with an exquisite eye for detail. Unromantic, and dark at times, this collection is always interesting' Daily Mail `A brilliantly astute book ... every narrative is unified by Hensher's incredible eye for detail and effortless talent for multi-layered storytelling' Attitude `Hensher's adaptability as a writer and love of form brings us clever, ravishing and moving storytelling' Monocle `It's Hensher writ large: poignant without sentimentalising, acutely observant of the mores of the modern world, but profoundly interested in the timeless search for the meaning of life.' Observer