I find Eugenides to be a lyrical, charming writer, and this book of short stories — centered around the theme of “complaints” — is at turns both funny and poignant. The fact that they were written over the course of 20 years means the tone is varied, and each story speaks with its own voice, while still maintaining a cohesive whole. I would recommend this even if you (as many people I know did) hated “The Marriage Plot.”