For the declaration that he is the greatest living short-story writer in English to have become a cliché, William Trevor must be doing something right.

After a cover-to-cover reading of this Anglo-Irishman's second doorstop collection, "Selected Stories," what lingers is less lone memorable tales than a feeling—or rather intervals of feelings that build into an emotional chord. Sorrow is the dominant note, blending with regret, wistfulness, loss, longing and an indefinable sweetness that makes the whole downer package much easier to take. Sorrow is a pleasure in Trevor world—richer, deeper