My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead

Eugenides subtitles his book with the phrase “great love stories”, but he cautions his readers in his introductory remarks that this is not a book of gooey, sappy stories. There are no happy endings here. But, unless you are a person who takes great pleasure in Harlequins, you will find every story a little masterpiece and you will “love” this book. (Remembering, of course, that “love”, even the love of books, is not always a pleasant experience.)