Strangers in the House: Life Stories

As she proved in her wonderful memoir How I came Into My Inheritance, Gallagher has a perfect ear for the way we live now-particularly if we live in comfortable New York intelligentsia. But really, her stories-of an employee who embezzles money with the tacit knowledge and permission of her employer, of a friendship sunk by jealousy and the refusal to admit same, among many others-are as universal as her voice is distinctive. While some pieces are stronger than others-some readers may prefer Gallagher's examination of her family of origin in the Ukraine, say, over her deadpan, Sex and the City-ish (but without the sex) story of a love affair with a man she didn't much like-this slim volume has something for everyone. Or as Gallagher herself announces, ""Oh my goodness, the themes you stumble over as you make your way from day to day! Trust, Betrayal, Class, Hypocrisy, Love, Hate, Greed, Sickness, Health. It only needs War and Peace.""