'An Old Virgin' describes a nurse's obsession with her forty-three-year-old patient's virginity; in the urban fable 'Mirrorball' a man steals a girl's soul during a one-night stand; 'College Town 1980' follows a group of listless young people adrift in Ann Arbor, debating the meaning of personal strength at the start of the Reagan era; 'Folk Song' opens with a list of newspaper headlines before dissecting the lives of the characters behind the features, including a murderer who gives a prime-time interview and a woman from San Francisco attempting to break a world record by having sex with one thousand men.

Full of jagged, lived emotion, broken people and powerful, original writing, Don't Cry is a testament to Gaitskill's formal range and incomparable excavation of character.

'A writer of prodigious gifts' Guardian

Full of jagged, complex emotion and powerful, incisive writing, the stories in Don't Cry are a testament to Mary Gaitskill's incomparable excavation of character.

'An Old Virgin' describes a nurse's obsession with her forty-three-year-old patient's virginity; 'Folk Song' dissects the lives of people behind newspaper headlines, including a murderer who gives a prime-time interview and a woman attempting to break a world record by having sex with one thousand men; in the title story 'Don't Cry', a grieving widow reflects on her marriage whilst accompanying a friend on a journey to adopt an Ethiopian orphan during a violent election season; and a musician accidentally steals a girl's soul during a one-night stand in the urban fable 'Mirrorball'.

The provocative, searching stories of Don't Cry remind us that no experiences should be taken lightly, but instead explored for their physical, emotional and even spiritual revelations.

'A writer of prodigious gifts' Guardian

Full of jagged, complex emotion and powerful, incisive writing, the stories in Don't Cry are a testament to Mary Gaitskill's incomparable excavation of character.

'An Old Virgin' describes a nurse's obsession with her forty-three-year-old patient's virginity; 'Folk Song' dissects the lives of people behind newspaper headlines, including a murderer who gives a prime-time interview and a woman attempting to break a world record by having sex with one thousand men; in the title story 'Don't Cry', a grieving widow reflects on her marriage whilst accompanying a friend on a journey to adopt an Ethiopian orphan during a violent election season; and a musician accidentally steals a girl's soul during a one-night stand in the urban fable 'Mirrorball'.

The provocative, searching stories of Don't Cry remind us that no experiences should be taken lightly, but instead explored for their physical, emotional and even spiritual revelations.