Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

Seventeen stories that deepen and expand the world Paley created in her debut. The characters have aged, their children have grown, and the political landscape has shifted, but Paley’s voice is sharper and more confident than ever.

Why Read This

If The Little Disturbances of Man introduces Paley’s voice, this second collection is where she perfects it. The stories are more formally adventurous, sometimes fragmentary, sometimes structured as conversations or arguments. Faith Darwin returns, older now, navigating single motherhood and political activism in a changing New York. The title story is one of the finest pieces of short fiction in the American canon.

What to Expect

Slightly more experimental than the debut, but never difficult for difficulty’s sake. Paley’s sentences remain clear and her humor remains warm. The political dimension is more present here, reflecting the antiwar movement and the social upheaval of the late 1960s and early 1970s, but always grounded in the particular lives of particular people.