THE HAT ON THE BED

24 short stories, 10 not previously published elsewhere, to add to the important and growing body of work by the custodian of American manners and mores. O'Hara is especially at home in the short story form. These demonstrate his continuing mastery of the telling detail; of character guessed from revealing glimpses of action or conversation that seems like something overheard. Very few authors writing today can achieve work that reads aloud with such ease or supply dialogue that rings so true. Although this book is unlikely to displace the author's Elizabeth Appleton, which has scaled the current bestseller list, the fact of a long line of top selling novels stimulates interest in the short stories.