Jill McCorkle, a master of the short story whose work has been compared to that of Alice Munro and Lorrie Moore, is a writer whose characters insist on our immediate and total attention. Here, in her first collection in eight years, are eleven new stories bristling with her signature wit and weight. One way or the other, all of these stories are about women looking love in the face without flinching. Some of them are confronting the reality of domestic disruption; others are simply flirting with the possibilities<U+2014>and dangers<U+2014>of change. McCorkle's characters make mistakes but aren't interested in hiding behind them. They get divorced or quit their jobs or tell people to step aside, and they move on. From the first story, about a modern-day Cinderella contemplating escape, to the last, "Me and Big Foot," an idyll about finding the perfect prince, McCorkle<U+2019>s collection is the genuine article, the work of a great storyteller who knows exactly how<U+2014>and why<U+2014>to pair longing andlaughter.