A girl on a paper round gets more than she bargained for. A couple feels the strain when the money runs out. Life plays out in the call centre, the bingo hall and at the bus stop.

Vicki Jarrett's debut collection – reissued here with the bonus story 'Up Dog Down Dog' – is a deftly observed insight into the lives of people just trying to get by.

Jarrett, whose first novel, Nothing is Heavy, was shortlisted for Scottish First Book of the Year, is drawn to the absurdity of everyday life. The characters in The Way Out dream of escape from jobs, relationships and disappointments, yet these darker tones are finely balanced by a natural lightness of touch. These stories are at once heart-breaking, tender, devastatingly honest and brimming with black comedy.

'There is heart here… a very impressive collection.' – Rodge Glass, author of Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs

'These stories are warm yet chilling, barbed but sensuous, gruesome then tender, funny and wistful. In her accounts of men, women, children and arseholes, Jarrett serves up a platter of dilemmas, desires and disappointments. This is a collection full of style and control.' – Anneliese Mackintsoh, author of Any Other Mouth