Relief

Effortlessly blending dark humor with unnerving situations, this collection of stories addresses a variety of entertaining scenarios with warmth and subtlety. From a story about a little girl out of her depth in a friendship with an adult neighbor to an armed intruder thwarted by a bee and from a tale about a woman determined to believe in her brother''s goodness under the shadow of accusation to a story about a Christmas dinner guest who will eat only peas, these works describe surreal, sometimes menacing situations that are equally original and funny.