It took me a while to warm up to Eudora Welty's writing style. Some of the stories in this series were disappointing, but my favorites, like "Petrified Man", "Why I live at the PO", and "The Death of the Traveling Salesman" were magical. It's insane how easily, in limited words, Welty is able to create well-rounded, intense, and memorable characters. The same goes for her scenes. I felt like I have watched the whole parlor scene on TV in Petrified Man even though I've just read it. I can visualize the characters. And in no world, I thought I would enjoy a story about two middle-aged women just gossiping throughout. There is also beauty in the fact that all of Eudora Welty's main characters are misfits, strange, and inherently flawed.