Cheating at Canasta

Cheating at Canasta - an outstanding collection of stories by the master storyteller William Trevor

''There is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world'' Wall Street Journal

''''No matter what,'' Julia had said, aware then of what was coming, ''let''s always play cards.'' And they did; for even with her memory gone, a little more of it each day - her children taken, her house, her flowerbeds, belongings, clothes - their games in the communal drawing room were a reality her affliction allowed.''

A husband sits in Harry''s Bar in Venice, thinking of his wife - lost to him now - whose plea has brought him back to one of their favourite haunts. On another table, a young couple quarrel. ''Cheating at Canasta'' is the title story of William Trevor''s collection, his first since the highly acclaimed A Bit on the Side, and its themes of missed opportunities, the inevitability of change and the powerful but fragmentary quality of our memories are entirely characteristic of his unparalleled oeuvre.