Contains all of Malamud's fifty-four published short stories written over four decades, including "Armistice," "Alma Redeemed," "The Jewbird," and "A Wig.".
Frank, a troubled, somewhat desperate, Italo-American, works long hours in the grocery store of a struggling Jewish family in a Brooklyn neighborhood. He develops a secret passion for his employer's attractive daughter.
Yakov Bok, a Jewish handyman, is accused of the murder of a young Russian boy and refuses to confess to a crime he did not commit in spite of the injustices committed against him.
Gifted baseball player Roy Hobbs, his career derailed by a youthful indiscretion, makes a stunning comeback in later life, but finds himself still struggling against the temptations that would bring him to ruin.