Called "astonishingly assured" by London's Guardian, Elizabeth McCracken's 1993 debut story collection was published three years before her National Book Award finalist The Giant's House, and it offers nine tales of oddballs trying to forge connections. In "It's Bad Luck to Die," a woman marries an older tattoo artist and becomes a canvas for his masterpiece. "Some Have Entertained Angels, Unaware" recounts what happens when a widower and his daughter invite a cast of eccentrics to live in their dilapidated home. And in the title story, a young couple are perplexed when an old woman shows up on their doorstep, claiming to be a distant aunt, even though she can't be traced on a family tree.