Books published by publisher London: William Heinemann, 1931.

A Note from the Author: The two long pieces in this book originally came out in The New Yorker – RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAM, CARPENTERS in 1955, SEYMOUR – An Introduction in 1959. Whatever their differences in mood or effect, they are both very much concerned with Seymour Glass, who is the main character in my series about the Glass family. Oddly, the joys and satisfactions of working on the Glass family peculiarly increase and deepen for me with the years. I can’t say why, though. Not, at least, outside the casino proper of my fiction.‘The Glasses are one of the liveliest, funniest, most fully-realized families in all of fiction’ Charles McGrath, New York Times

This book is the first collection of short stories by Natalie Okri and the eight short stories in it take place in both Nigeria and UK with the themes covering each aspect of suffering such as war, poverty hunger, etc. The protagonist, who is entrapped in the vortex of suffering, pursues hope in desperation and obtains new comprehension in his struggle. With poetic language, Okri presents on and another real world that seems magic in an elegant and humorous way.