The Whore's Child: And Other Stories

A warded the Pulitzer Prize for his bestselling Empire Falls — also named the year's best novel by Time — Richard Russo now focuses, in his first book of short fiction, on a fresh and fascinating range of human behavior. With a fluency of tone that will surprise even his devoted readers, he captures both bewildering horror and heartrending tenderness with an absorbing, compassionate authority.

We warm to these newcomers — as to all Russo's characters — almost despite ourselves. A jaded Holly...