Alice Munro has a genius for entering the lives of ordinary people and capturing the passions and contradictions that lie just below the surface. In this brilliant new collection she takes mainly the lives of women - unruly, ungovernable, unpredictable, unexpected, funny, sexy and completely recognisable - and brings their hidden desires bubbling to the surface. The love of a good woman is not as pure and virtuous as it seems - as in her title story it can be needy and mur-derous. Here are women hehaving badly, leaving husbands and children, running of with unsuitable lovers, pushing everyday life to the limits - and if they don't behave badly, they think surprising and disturbing thoughts. 'Alice Munro excites the writer in me - there is something new to learn from her every sentence' ANTONIA BYATT 'Alice Munro's stories are miraculous' LUCY HUGHES-HALLETT, SUNDAY TIMES