-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
The Collected Short Fiction
by Helen Garner
A finely etched collection of short stories from the "generous, category-defying imagination" (New York Times Book Review) of Helen Garner, one of Australia's most beloved writers.
A woman sends postcards to a former lover from the idyllic Gold Coast. A chorus of hometown voices gossip about a wayward friend returned. A young girl discovers a hidden box of horrors.
Helen Garner is best known for her frank, unsparing, and intricate portraits of Australian life. Now, in Stories, comes the collected short fiction of a singular literary voice. These stories delve into the complexities of love and longing, of the pain, darkness, and joy of life, and all told with Garner's characteristic sharpness, honesty, and humor. Each one is a perfect piece, but together they showcase a rare talent and a master of many literary forms.
"These stories ignite new ways of seeing the world." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Without the strong central narrative voice of Garner's novels, the raw, autofictional quality for which she's known is not as prominent...Her prose, as always, is honest, energetic, spare, and precise. Though Garner's voice is always worth hearing, this collection might not be the best place for new readers to begin." —Kirkus Reviews
"Trenchant and sly, Garner's characterizations and observations of quotidian relationships vibrate with a mercilessness tempered by the occasional fond memory of a foundational past." —Booklist
This information about Stories was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Nicholas Purcell
Helen Garner writes novels, stories, screenplays, and works of non-fiction. In 2006 she received the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature, and in 2016 she won the prestigious Windham–Campbell Literature Prize for Non-fiction. In 2019 she was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. Her books include Monkey Grip, The Children's Bach, Cosmo Cosmolino, The Spare Room, The First Stone, This House of Grief, Everywhere I Look, and her diaries Yellow Notebook, One Day I'll Remember This, and How to End a Story.
If you liked Stories, try these:
by Margaret Atwood
Published 2026
How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? The long-awaited memoir from one of our most lauded and influential cultural figures.
by Elaine Hsieh. Chou
Published 2026
From the critically-acclaimed author of Disorientation, a multi-genre story collection that explores the limits and possibilities of storytelling.
by Maggie Shipstead
Published 2023
From the Booker Prize nominee and New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle, a piercing, irresistible first collection of short stories exquisite in their craft and audacious in their range.
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
