style and offers insight into the social fabric of the decade. The opening of the anthology introduces the reader to the editor’s insightful preface, where O’Brien reflects on the state of American literature and critiques its tendencies towards optimism in the face of harsh realities. This is followed by the first story, "The Kitchen Gods" by Gulielma Fell Alsop, which transports us to a Chinese household where the small wife, Dong-Yung, navigates the complexities of her place between tradition and a yearning for personal autonomy, while her husband, Foh-Kyung, explores new spiritual beliefs. This poignant exploration of cultural contrasts and personal conflict sets the stage for the themes of identity and societal roles that are likely to be recurrent throughout the collection. (This is an automatically generated summary.)