One need only read the first lines of Tess Slesinger's title story-or indeed any of her stories-to know that hers is a unique literary voice, one that rivets a reader's attention to the page from the very beginning and holds it to the very end. Hers is, one soon discovers, also a wholly feminine voice: compelling, filled with insight, acute at observation, sure of its tone, and everywhere discovering the reality behind human appearances and pretensions. This is a remarkable collection of short stories by a brilliant young writer who was cut off in her prime when she died of cancer in 1945. On being told that her second husband has taken his first lover -- After the party -- The times so unsettled are -- Mother to dinner -- Relax is all -- Jobs in the sky -- White on black -- The mouse-trap -- Missis Flinders -- the Friedmans' Annie -- The answer on the magnolia tree -- A life in the day of a writer