A remarkable collection of dark funny and haunting short stories from the inimitable author of The Lottery.An anxious devil an elderly writer of poison pen letters and a midcentury Jack the Ripper a pursuit though a nightmarish city a small boys thrilling train ride with a female thief and a town where the possibility of evil lurks behind perfect rose bushes. This is the world of Shirley Jackson by turns frightening funny strange and unforgettably revealed in this brilliant collection of short stories.Jackson at her best plumbing the extraordinary from the depths of midtwentiethcentury common. Just an Ordinary Day is a gift to a new generation San Francisco ChronicleFor Jackson devotees as well as firsttime readers this is a feast ... A virtuoso collection Publishers Weekly