From the cruel irony of &A member of the Family& to the fateful echoes of & The Go-Away Bird& & the unexpectedly sinister & The Girl I Left Behind Me& in settings that range from South Africa to the Portobello Road Muriel Spark probes the idiosyncrasies that lurk beneath the veneer of human respectability displaying the acerbic wit & wisdom that are the hallmarks of her unique talent The Complete Short Stories is a collection to be loved & cherished from one of the finest short story writers of the twentieth century