Gappah is a new writer to me, but I'm going to have to read more from her in the future, because this was fantastic. I read a lot of short stories, and every so often I read a collection of them that reminds me so much of why I like the form. They're small, polished pieces of narrative, that often end in interesting ways, and they are sometimes, as they are here, a concentrated study of character. Whether it's the woman who takes her neighbour's baby, the man who loses his job and starts building coffins, or the problems of navigating bureaucracy and trying to salvage some sort of financial security in a country where inflation is running rampant, every protagonist here is utterly believable. They're all compelling, even if they're not always pleasant, and the social and political undercurrents running through the book as a whole are well-explored and finely observed. 

I understand that the author has written at least one other book (according to the catalogue of my local library, anyway) and it's going on my to-read list, because this was thoroughly enjoyable.