Fischerová weaves ordinary material into stories that are fresh and surprising. She creates special, decisive moments that have a force similar to those in the works of E. M. Forster. She approaches such typical occurrences as a child's relationship with her aunt and a woman's relationship with a married man as if no one has ever written about them before. And she does so with meticulous craftsmanship: in the structure of her stories, in the ways she employs words, and in the way she combines ideas and emotions.

With widely varying characters and plots, these seven short stories describe everything from a Czech girl coming of age to an Imperial Chinese chef who is increasingly unable to be truly creative and venture beyond his previous experiences. The common thread running through the tales is the idea that one must accept one's emotions and desires as being real, and embrace the imagined only as a way to find and express one's true self.

In Fischerová's stories, relationships are extremely fragile, based on make-believe and a failure to truly communicate. Escape is ever present and always futile.

Fischerová is a leading writer of the Czech baby-boom generation. Her plays have been staged around the world, including in the United States, and she has also won numerous awards for her books, screenplays, and radio plays.

"[A] taut, intelligent collection of stories ... 'You've given us something unique to taste,' the empress says. In this collection, elegantly translated by Neil Bermel, so too has Fischerová."
—Gabriel Sanders, New York Times Book Review

"The range of tone and material in this collection of seven short stories attests to Fischerová's mastery of the genre ... Adroitly translated by Bermel, this collection is an excellent introduction to one of the most influential Czech writers in the literary generation following that of Milan Kundera."
—Publishers Weekly

"These are precisely told stories cut clean of any fat, but generously seasoned with elusive, well-measured layers of meaning. ... a skillful display of the masterful sleight-of-hand style that makes her work both direction for continued exploration and a wholly satisfying end in itself"
—Tim Rogers, The Prague Post

"[S]even superbly wrought stories ... An enchanting volume, and a wonderful introduction to the work of an immensely gifted writer."
—Kirkus Reviews