Fiction. William Saroyan's gift to literature was his humanity. In his five decades of writing short stories, novels, and plays, he saw exuberance where others found sorrow, and he lived a life that was richer and stranger than his fiction. From his humble roots as a bike messenger in Fresno, California, Saroyan went on to enchant the world with his intelligence, insight, and integrity. In drama, short stories, novels, and autobiography, Saroyan explored the universal themes of human existence through a lens that was at once American, Armenian, and global in its outlook. ESSENTIAL SAROYAN brings together acclaimed stories as well as a few surprises from one of California's finest gifts to world literature.