Duellists in a decadent urban dream. Lost creatures in a bizarre post-apocalypse. Fables lingering into almost-modern worlds. From hallucinatory surrealism to human dramas at the fuzzy edges of reality, these stories and poems by the author of The Etched City are by turns exuberant, poignant, darkly funny and delightfully deranged, all showcasing the inventive magic of an acclaimed literary fantasist. Includes Aurealis Award winner The Heart of a Mouse and two stories in the world of The Etched City, one previously unpublished. "Bishop is one of my favorite writers. She is an unmatched stylist and an alarming dreamer. Like her first novel, That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote is an astonishment, a portfolio of wonders." —Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.