Everything is Nice, By Jane Bowles

Jane Bowles, the cult writer who lived through several mental and physical breakdowns before her death in 1973, produced her best work in her mid-thirties.

This collection includes several short stories, fragments of novels, letters and sketches and her one play, "In the Summer House".

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In many of the stories, the female leads are torn between manic activity and passivity. Self-hatred is the pervading theme.

In "Camp Cataract", the runaway heroine introduces herself saying: "Suppose I tell you point blank that I'm an extremely original woman, but also a very shallow one.''