Anne Enright is a passionate writer who describes real life like you would to your best friend – only, with elegance and a turn of phrase that creates an immediate picture. Her stories are about death, and love and being a mum, but they are also about anguish and laughter and the absurdity of being human, including the (at times) complete lack of grace that comes with it. These short stories are sweet to read: quick tidbits of other people’s lives. ‘Here’s to Love’, for example, is about the subtle change of friendship that can happen when you revisit old relationships and set new boundaries. I like her characters. I like the way they make me feel. When I read Enright’s stories, one or two before bed, I feel I’m not alone and am comforted by other people’s experiences.