Is there such things as an European small town? This collection of short stories tries and pretends there is, but I'm not so sure.

Europe has a pretty large meaning, going from Iceland to Turkey. The stories are uneven, with some bright ideas or clear sentences here and there.

If there is a small European town, then its characters are:

• lost girls, to gold-plated men, left to suffer the coming consequences (probably a child, maybe an STD and a broken heart)

• lost boys, to a fascination with the Smiths, to the unending daydream of leaving that place

• men stuck in the usual humdrum and the pressure of the tight social group, finding solace in madness

• women opening soon to be closed small windows to air out their suffocating lives

• last but not least: a general contempt for outsiders and the outside world (the Polish example is hilarious)

Pleasant read, and pleasant journey across Europe. Another merit of this book is to give ideas to write better stories.