The stories here possess all the qualities that have built Peter Stamm''s reputation as one of the very finest European writers alive today - the undemonstrative prose, the deceptive simplicity of the storylines, and the calm, clear understanding of psychology and the emotions. In ''Expectations'', we meet a woman who becomes involved with her younger upstairs neighbour; in ''The Result'', a man waiting for the outcome of medical tests; and in ''Sweet Dreams'', a young couple learning to navigate the thrills and complications of cohabitation. A master of the short story, Stamm does not spare the reader''s feelings - and nor does he waste a word.