Nicholas Hagger’s collected five volumes of some 1,000 very short stories here create a new genre: the symbolic or miniature story. Each story expresses an eternal truth through an image conveyed in a vivid title, and can provide the reader with a complete literary experience in a few minutes. They make ideal reading for the train, in bed, in a hospital or as a class-room text. Each volume covers a decade, starting with the 1960s and ending with the 2000s, while each story stands on its own but chimes to a theme, the development being from horror to acceptance.