Reviews

When we were younger my affection for him came so easily and I could listen to his endless opinions for hours and I suppose that meant I loved him in a way that only nineteen-year-olds can love, and though I don't exactly feel that way anymore I do feel some baffling and unexplainable grace, some exhausted affection, though he didn't deserve it any more than a jar of expired mustard deserves its spot in a refrigerator just by being there for so long without someone having the nerve to throw it away.

Catherine Lacey's collection of short stories concerns itself largely with women who are at the end of relationships or are having trouble negotiating life in general. Lacey's writing reminds me of Halle Butler, Kevin Wilson and even Ottessa Moshfegh, and I do like that kind of protagonist, who is constantly getting in her own way and behaving badly. The best story in the collection was Family Physics, about a woman determined to escape her own family.

nataliab's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

this book did Not grip me, first half was very dull… and yet i kept reading? i suppose for the prose? can’t really say. stories got better as book went on! maybe catherine lacey just isn’t meant to be a short story writer. and that’s okay

6ykmapk's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5*

sofiedesmyter83's review against another edition

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4.0

I underlined passages in every single story, but especially liked Ur heck box, Family Physics, Violations and The Grand Claremont. Love Lacey's sarcasm - I normally never read a short story collection from start to finish but couldn't put this one down.

rebekahg876's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

suspendedinair's review against another edition

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5.0

fun, escapist, exaggerated, smart bullshit. much recommended.

masonanddixon's review against another edition

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4.0

Lonely people in search of their fugitive selves. Most of these were not clicking for me until Lacey's final surrealist swing that crystallized the overarching theme of life's permanent flux. Admittedly, the stories ran together somewhat— more than few utilize forgotten and unactualized trauma as a catalyst for the character's inner reflection— but given that the volume is so slim, and that the longest stories are invariably the best, I can't help but be impressed. Lacey can fucking write, and her eerie, yet liberating view on identity propels these tales of lonely people contemplating loneliness and rationalizing trauma (often badly) to a strange emotional plateau. Each note perfect, but the whole an inviting miasma of ennui.

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