A landmark event: the collected stories of ''one of the greatest writers of our era'' (Hilary Mantel) and ''the Irish novelist everyone should read'' (Colm Tóibín).''Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.'' David Mitchell''I have admired, even loved, John McGahern''s work since his first novel.'' Melvyn Bragg''Gentle, lyrical, an amorist of language, a natural historian of the soul.'' Irish Times''Exquisite stories . . . Here is a Dublin of tatty dancehalls and uneasy courtships, of kisses in damp doorways and unfulfilled hungerings . . . Writing of extraordinary beauty.'' Guardian