I haven't been a huge fan of short stories because they always seem to be so-so, but this collection was fantastic. I liked every single story, although I did like some more than others. MZB definitely knew how to recognize a damn good story. It also makes me think about writers - I think writing novels and writing stories take different types of talents. Some have both but some writers have only one. And I think some of the stories I've been disappointed in lately have been written by novelists - the story seems to be missing something or feels like it should actually be a longer work. I didn't get that feeling with any of the stories in this book. They all felt like short self-contained episodes. I'm looking forward to reading the other volumes edited by MZB.