The Collected Stories

This reissue of Grace Paley’s classic collection—a finalist for the National Book Award—demonstrates her rich use of language as well as her extraordinary insight into and compassion for her characters, moving from the hilarious to the tragic and back again. Whether writing about the love (and conflict) between parents and children or between husband and wife, or about the struggles of aging single mothers or disheartened political organizers to make sense of the world, she brings the same unerring ear for the rhythm of life as it is actually lived.

"Grace Paley makes me weep and laugh—and admire. She is that rare kind of writer, a natural, with a voice like no one else's: funny, sad, lean, modest, energetic, acute." —Susan Sontag

"A solid and vital fictional world, cross-referenced and dense with life." —Walter Clemons, Newsweek

"I can't think of another writer who captures the itch of the city, the love between parents and children, or the cutting edge of combat, as well." —Lis Harris, The New York Times Book Review

Grace Paley divides her time between New York City and Thetford Hill, Vermont.