Murphy's Stories are like an acting class in which the reader is required to put himself or herself in a variety of situations or take on a variety of characters and imagine each in their full humanity. You get a lot of help from a great teacher, a thoughtful adventurous acting coach. Ranging from the fantastic and apocalyptic to the familiar and local, the stories quickly capture the recklessness of the present moment. Murphy skilfully evokes the tension between the celebration of individualism and the impossibility of collective agreement... A collection of funny and sinister stories with a refreshing assuredness. Recommended." -- Library Journal.