This comprehensive collection brings together fifty-two stories handpicked by Mavis Gallant from across her celebrated career, showcasing her mastery of the short story form. Set in Paris, Berlin, Switzerland, and along the French Riviera, these tales follow expatriates, exiles, and displaced souls navigating the complexities of identity, belonging, and human connection in postwar Europe and beyond. With irony, psychological insight, and an eye for revealing detail, Gallant captures entire lives and worlds in compressed, unconventional narratives that push the boundaries of the form.

Why You Should Read?

• Explores themes of exile, displacement, and the expatriate experience through characters searching for home and identity across European landscapes
• Recognized as one of the 20th century's greatest short story writers, Gallant's work earned her the Order of Canada and numerous literary honors for her precise, innovative prose
• Essential for readers who appreciate literary fiction, character-driven narratives, and the art of the short story at its finest
• This Everyman's Library edition features over 1,000 pages of Gallant's best work, with a preface by the author discussing the sources of her art