In choosing this year's best American short stories, guest editor Amy Tan found herself drawn to fiction that satisfied her appetite for the magic and mystery she once loved as a child, when she was addicted to fairy tales. The result is a vibrant collection in which truth and fantasy coexist in new works by writers such as Rick Bass, Annie Proulx, Lorrie Moore, and Pam Houston, as well as in startlingly accomplished stories by new writers. The Best American Short Stories is the only volume that annually offers the finest works chosen by a distinguished best-selling author.

"An annual treat . . heartening and facinating."

Katrina Kenison has been the series editor of The Best American Short Stories since 1990. She currently resides in Massachusetts.Amy Tan won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for her first novel, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, which was made into a successful film in 1993. Her other books include THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE and THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES.

Foreword ix

Introduction by Amy Tan xiii

Rick Bass. The Hermit's Story 1

from The Paris Review

Junot Díaz. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars 15

from The New Yorker

Chitra Divakaruni. Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter 29

from The Atlantic Monthly

Stephen Dobyns. Kansas 48

from The Clackamas Literary Review

Nathan Englander. The Tumblers 55

from American Short Fiction

Tim Gautreaux. The Piano Tuner 78

from Harper's Magazine

Melissa Hardy. The Uncharted Heart 97

from The Ontario Review

George Harrar. The 5: 22 120

from Story

A. Hemon. Islands 129

from Ploughshares

Pam Houston. The Best Girlfriend You Never Had 143

from Other Voices

Ha Jin. In the Kindergarten 164

from Five Points

Heidi Julavits. Marry the One Who Gets There First 173

from Esquire

Hester Kaplan. Live Life King-Sized 189

from Press

Sheila Kohler. Africans 216

from Story

Jhumpa Lahiri. Interpreter of Maladies 223

from Agni Review

Lorrie Moore. Real Estate 244

from The New Yorker

Alice Munro. Save the Reaper 273

from The New Yorker

Annie Proulx. The Bunchgrass Edge of the World 294

from The New Yorker

James Spencer. The Robbers of Karnataka 316

from The Gettysburg Review

Samrat Upadhyay. The Good Shopkeeper 335

from Manoa

Steve Yarbrough. The Rest of Her Life 351

from The Missouri Review

Contributors' Notes 377

100 Other Distinguished Stories of 1998 391

Editorial Addresses of American and Canadian Magazines Publishing Short Stories 395