Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate...

These stories, told in a voice that is at once witty, melancholy, and bravely honest, paint a tableau of lovers and family, of loss and pleasure, desire and memory. From the young secretary who by day hopes someone will notice her Phi Beta Kappa key and by night makes love to a married man she met at a Florsheim shoe store, to the shattering of a marriage by the shores of a tranquil lake, Self-Help is a unique, enduring work of short fiction.

Twenty-three unforgettable short stories from one of America’s most celebrated literary masters.
John Updike once said of his friend and fellow writer Andre Dubus: “[He] is a shrewd student of people who come to accept pain as a fair price for pleasure, and to view right and wrong as a matter of degree.” Dubus’s characters are depicted in all their imperfection, but with the author’s requisite tenderness...

Twelve stories deal with loneliness, loss, the tragic banality of everyday life, and redemption.

"Pammy and Lyle Wynant are an attractive, modern couple who seem to have it all. Yet behind their "ideal" life is a lingering boredom and quiet desperation: their talk is mostly chatter, their sex life more a matter of obligatory "satisfaction" than pleasure. Then Lyle sees a man killed on the floor of the Stock Exchange and becomes involved with the terrorists responsible; Pammy leaves for Maine with a homosexual couple. And still they remain untouched,...

"Gathered is an accessible, contemporary guide to the sustainable art of drying flowers. Learn about this chic craft's origins, variety of uses, and the inexpensive practice of drying and elegantly arranging flowers today. Find inspiration and follow step-by-step instructions to master all of the basic skills, tools and techniques necessary to preserving your grasses and blooms beautifully, both for the home and special occasions. At the heart of...

As space for land development in cities shrinks and city dwellers tire of cookie-cutter apartment towers, a love for historical buildings has returned. The initial interest in ?lofts? began in SoHo, New York, in the 1970s, and the love of warehouse buildings?often in attractive waterside locations?has since become a global phenomenon. Drawing on her personal experience living in a Grade II listed mill, Sophie Bush has amassed a wealth of knowledge...