So after starting and not finishing two books, I decided it was time to tackle a book of short stories. If I have chosen novels or a biography poorly, I like short stories. It’s like eating salt and pepper Kettlechips, before you know it you’re at the bottom of the bag, licking your fingers and wanting more. I read Difficult Women thinking about the title. Why the word difficult? All of the stories are told by women. The stories range from a story of two […]
Stories like sassy little cupcakes.
This little book was just FUN. I normally avoid short story collections, since for some reason my brain does the opposite of what you would expect, and refuses to concentrate on any story that is less than one hundred pages long. Thankfully that wasn’t the case with Miniatures. I found this very short fiction collection extremely entertaining, and the perfect light read to distract me from real life stuff. Each story is 2,500 words or less. Some of them were published previously but a good […]
She had already learned the dangers of sincerity.
Faithful followers of my must-read, brilliantly executed, and always punctual reviews will know that I only recently discovered Roxane Gay last year, with Bad Feminist. And you will know that based on reading only that collection of essays, I will follow her to the ends of the earth, shout her name from the rooftops, aspire to be as articulate, hilarious, and honest as she, and never be dissuaded from my undying love for her. Difficult Women is haunting and beautiful. I was nervous. My expectations […]
The Anti-British Bake Off of Short Story Collections: sombering and heavy.
I have been a fan of T.C. Boyle for the past few years. I first read “Tortilla Curtain” in 2011, and followed that up a few years later with “Drop City.” Boyle has a distinctive voice, cutting and dour, but also reflective. His examination of topics through, and he tackles tough subjects and places characters into situations of existential crisis with almost a relish. His books cover hard topics and hardened people, often in hopeless situations, but his writing forgives him for taking you down […]