All the Days and Nights : The Collected Stories

"William Maxwell's tales, long and short, have the elusive ability to reveal us to ourselves" Erica Wagner, The Times. Spanning more than 50 years, the stories in this collection encompass the life's work of one of America's best-loved and most acclaimed writers. In setting the range from small town Illinois to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, these stories are distinguished by Maxwell's inimitable wisdom and kindness, his sense of the small details that make up a life, the nuances of joy and sadness that change its direction. Whether describing the reunion of two brothers who will never agree, the furniture of the apartment that becomes everything to a childless couple, the search for the perfect French meal or the life of a ne'er-do-well uncle, Maxwell's stories capture responses that are recognisable in us all. "However different their settings the sensibility remains constant. It is decorous, highly civilised and deeply thoughtful" Anthony Quinn, Observer. "All of them share the effect of a brilliant view - as though a window were opened on a contained and vivid scene...There is a rare clarity and economy here - along with that wise measured humanity" Penelope Lively, Spectator.