Complete collection of short stories. From the introduction by Helen Simpson: “Her writing is reflective, complex and subtle, full of literary and historical references”. A bit too much – not my cup of tea. But I enjoyed some of the stories, specially the ealiers ones such as “The Journal of Mistress Joan Martyn” and “Solid Objects” (a distracted politician so caught up with objects that he gives up politics). Some short stories deal with the party guests from “Mrs Dalloway”, so perhaps one day I’ll read the novel. Something interesting from the introduction: Virginia Wolf wrote in a review of some translation of Checkov’s “The Bishop and other stories” (with I read last month) – “inconclusive stories are legitimate; thought they leave us feeling melancholy and perhaps uncertain, yet somehow they provide a resting-point for the mind – a solid object casting its shade of reflection and speculation”. Now I’d like to read some of Katherine Mansfield’s short stories.