Although I usually don't care for short story collections, I love how Amy Bloom wove two series of stories together into a kind of novella form in this book. Something very satisfying about reading the arc of lives and relationships in that format, kind of like watching a long thorough movie trailer that saves you from having to watch the whole movie. Characters were splendid - slightly off center from what I think of as the mainstream, and therefore mostly more interesting. She reminds me a bit in that of Anne Tyler, although her characters are extroverts where Tyler's are introverts. Some lovely felicities of language along the way - especially similes. There's a poetic economy in this stories that I very much appreciate. A few words carry the reader a long way. A serial killer story was uncomfortable for me to read but well done - and now I want to read more of Bloom's books!