Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Ghost Lover

I loved “Three Women” and “Animal,” so I was excited to read Lisa Taddeo’s latest delve into the feminine psyche. Her prose is lush, poetic, and unsparing, chronicling the insidious ways the patriarchy erodes women’s self worth. She treads familiar terrain in this story collection, which is reminiscent of Cheever and Updike’s classic tales of upper middle class malaise. The language is as spectacular as ever here, yet where her two previous books were gripping and impossible to put down, I found my attention waning.

Collections are usually thematically linked, but most of these stories are simply too similar to the point of schtick. After the second or third or fourth wealthy, self-absorbed white woman stewing about wealthy, self absorbed white men, I started to lose interest. The Malibu villas and New England country houses started to blend together.

Much of the criticism of Taddeo’s work reeks of the same double standards her characters suffer under. Many readers still seem deeply uncomfortable with complicated, openly sexual female characters who aren’t sufficiently meek or morally pure. Taddeo seems to be speaking to that directly. I love a good unlikable narrator, but even the most hellish characters need to be compelling (Joan in “Animal” is a great example). The pressures and traumas that have undone these women are very real, but many of the stories merely paint a portrait of these issues rather than add something new to the conversation. I kept waiting for some kind of nod to the reader that wasn’t there.

A number of reviews have touched on representation issues. Queer people and people of color are largely invisible, except for occasional appearances as an exotic or threatening other. I assumed these icky moments were a reflection of the narrow worldview of the characters, but they were never commented upon or explored further. The world of the stories is almost defiantly vanilla .

There are a number of standouts in the collection, especially towards the second half of the book. The enduring love between friends in Air Supply and Suburban Weekend is deeply moving. I enjoyed the supernatural turn in Padua, 1966. Taddeo is at her best when she dives beyond the everyday heartaches to examine the much bigger monsters that lurk underneath. I think if I’d read some of them on their own instead of couched between the other stories, I would have appreciated them more.

Taddeo is such a skilled storyteller, it would be nice to see her step beyond her comfort zone. I’ll be eager to see what she comes out with next.

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lilabachere's review against another edition

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3.75

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crimsonreadlips's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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davyeyhavock's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I have never read anything by this author and put this one at the top of my TBR pile as soon as I came across it. I listened to these short stories on audio - which is read by a full cast and fantastic. Each story has a different lead that is just as unlikeable as the one before it. The synopsis describes perfectly how each give their own take on obsession, blindness of love, and grief.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the writing - the ability to capture a great amount of detail and portray numerous feelings through each experience is great skill.

These stories are chaotic and depressing - which I'm gathering is to be expected by this author. My favorites were: Maid Marian and Suburban Weekend. While I couldn't relate to the actions of these characters, you could feel the desperation through the pages and it forced you to go through the ugliness with them.

I will definitely be moving on to read other books by this author.

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ashleighbonica's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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