In this representative volume, "The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories" the reader will find twenty-four of Mark Twain's best shorter works. Classic and unforgettable tales that span the author's career are included, such as "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", which is Twain's most famous short story and was his first great success as an author. It is the unforgettable tale of Jim Smiley, the gambler who will bet on anything including...

"Sharp and funny, these drawn-from-life stories beginin the 1950s in an insular northern village "scoured by bitter winds and rough gossip tongues." For the child narrator, the only way to survive is to get up, get on, get out. In "King Billy Is a Gentleman," the child must come to terms with the loss of a father and the puzzle of a fading Irish heritage. "Curved Is the Line of Beauty" is a story of friendship, faith, and a near-disaster in a scrap-yard....

"The 'best short story writer in English' (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose— wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned— Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression...

"Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and... no qualms about a little murder. This funny, irreverent story collection by Helene Tursten, author of the Irene Huss investigations, features two-never-before translated stories that will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home. Ever since her darling father's untimely death, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden,...

A series of short stories discloses the strangeness, the beauty and the horror that man finds in himself and in the world around him.

The two-time Oscar winner presents a first collection of short fiction that includes the stories of a bowling champion who fears his celebrity has ruined his love of the game and an eccentric billionaire and faithful assistant who, while searching for acquisitions, discover romance and real life in a down-and-out motel.

"Too Small Tola lives in an apartment with her clever sister, Moji; her big brother, Dapo; and Grandmommy, who is very bossy. In the first of three endearing new adventures, Tola is sized just right to wriggle under the bed and rescue Grandmommy's prizedpossession when it goes missing. Her savvy and math skills save the day when Grandmommy gets sick, and when the family can't afford new clothes, industrious Tola finds a way--with a little help from...

"There are thrilling connections between stories; themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. “Afterlife” is about a man who died of colon cancer and keeps reliving the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again. Several stories feature characters at the end of life, revisiting their crimes and misdemeanors. Other stories address what happens...

"A high-born Nigerian goddess, who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover, longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company -- and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family's politics or be true to her heart. In her debut collection, internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful...