With her singular brand of gorgeous dark humor, Joy Williams explores the various ways–comic, tragic, and unnerving—we seek to accommodate diminishment and loss. A masseuse breaks her rich client's wrist bone, a friend visits at the hospital long after she is welcome, and a woman surrenders her husband to a creepily adoring student. From one of our most acclaimed writers, Honored Guest is a rich examination of our capacity for transformation and salvation.

Contents:
Honored Guest
Congress
Marabou
The Visiting Privilege
Substance
Anodyne
The Other Week
Claro
Charity
ACK
Hammer
Fortune