A stunning collection of thoughtful and highly readable short stories by Whitbread Award-winner, Kate Atkinson. This is a daring, witty and provocative collection of twelve thematically-linked stories. Inspired by Ovid's Metamorphosesor, if you prefer, by Prada, Mary Poppins, Moschino and Barbie, these are stories of abandoned children and lonely adults, the seductiveness of our consumer society and fatalism in a post-Apocalyptic world. From Charlene and Trudi, shopping madly while bombs explode outside, to gormless Eddie, a cataloguer of fish, and Meredith Zane who has discovered the secret to eternal life, each story brings to life a startling cast of characters. Linking the stories is an exploration of the infinite variety of ways in which people attempt to change the world around them, and themselves.