all the stories in the collection are strong enough to stand alone which is good oft in collections by other writers there are a couple of what might be called in music terms filler tracks. Like the other books by him I ve read I love his stories he always surprises me ,which is a real talent. Ī bit from men of Ireland as Prunty returns to IrelandĪs the quote shows Trevor has a great eye for detail. He had acquired the garments over a period ,knowing he intend to make this journey -the trousers of what had been a suit ,brown pin-striped ,worn shiny in the seat and at the knees ,a jacket that had been navy-blue and was nondescript now ,the khaki shirt he wore an item once of military attire. He was a shabbily dressed man ,almost everything he wore would having been abandoned by someone else. These stories show that even thou he was nearly eighty when he wrote this collection ,he still has the finger on the pulse of everyday life. We also touch on the very darkest people in society a paedophile on the lookout for a victim is a very harrowing story ,we also meet street gangs. if there is a theme to this book it is maybe loosely cheating ,a man in an italian cafe cheats at canasta ,a mechanic cheats some Spanish tourists out of money for a repair and in another a man returns to his home village from England as he felt cheat out of his inheritance ,but also a huge dark secret that he needs to see the priest about !Trevor wonderfully spins the human condition with all its foibles. This collection of short stories was published in 2007. His stories often touch on the outcasts and edges of society. he has won numerous awards and has been nominated for the booker prize on five occasions without winning a shocking oversight.

William Trevor without doubt in my humble opinion is the greatest living short story writer.

Cheating at canasta