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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
from Heaven:
‘That’s how I always thought of you too, even when you were awful. You were always golden.’
in all honesty, i only picked this up because i enjoyed watching Secretary recently and was intrigued to see how different the film is from the source material. the largest disparity i uncovered is that the source material is boring. most of the stories featured are boring as hell!!!!!
Gaitskill is obviously skilled with prose but the storylines left so much to be desired. quasi-intimate analyses of the lives and relationships of gravely uninteresting characters. most of the passages felt directionless and unnecessary, with taboo plot points and characterization choices that felt like i was witnessing the author realize that those taboos existed… like a mormon’s view of the life of a sex worker or two people in a dom/sub relationship.
the last story—Heaven—however, is an undeniable hit, miles above the rest of the passages in every possible regard. Heaven rests in that sweet spot of poignancy and sentimentality; and any flightiness to be found within the structure of the narrative or its characters stood a clear purpose in solidifying the tone of the story. 10/10 no notes
Gaitskill is obviously skilled with prose but the storylines left so much to be desired. quasi-intimate analyses of the lives and relationships of gravely uninteresting characters. most of the passages felt directionless and unnecessary, with taboo plot points and characterization choices that felt like i was witnessing the author realize that those taboos existed… like a mormon’s view of the life of a sex worker or two people in a dom/sub relationship.
the last story—Heaven—however, is an undeniable hit, miles above the rest of the passages in every possible regard. Heaven rests in that sweet spot of poignancy and sentimentality; and any flightiness to be found within the structure of the narrative or its characters stood a clear purpose in solidifying the tone of the story. 10/10 no notes
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
these stories had some great moments, but lost steam as they continued, i wish they had more depth
I bought this book because I was deeply impressed by "The Other Place," a Mary Gaitskill short story that I recently read in the New Yorker. "The Other Place" is a bone-chilling depiction of an outwardly civilized, suburbia-dwelling everyman's inner savage. It unflinchingly palpates the dark underbelly of the complex collection of traits we term "masculinity." After reading it, I wanted to experience more of Gaitskill's writing, and Bad Behavior seemed like a good place to begin, given that it includes Gaitskill's most famous work: the short story "Secretary," which inspired the 2002 cult-classic film of the same name.
What a loveless, joyless, lightless vision of the world this book presents! As I read these unremittingly dreary stories, I felt as if my soul was being ground up by the hard, indifferent gears of a typewriter. The characters in this book are self-deluding, occasionally drugged-out zombies who spend their lives sleepwalking through a smog-wrapped godless version of Gotham, occasionally bumping into one another in the dark. Ill-equipped to achieve real intimacy with other human beings, they never really learn anything meaningful about themselves or about each other, and so these stories left me feeling cheated and dissatisfied.
What a loveless, joyless, lightless vision of the world this book presents! As I read these unremittingly dreary stories, I felt as if my soul was being ground up by the hard, indifferent gears of a typewriter. The characters in this book are self-deluding, occasionally drugged-out zombies who spend their lives sleepwalking through a smog-wrapped godless version of Gotham, occasionally bumping into one another in the dark. Ill-equipped to achieve real intimacy with other human beings, they never really learn anything meaningful about themselves or about each other, and so these stories left me feeling cheated and dissatisfied.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good, then Heaven takes it to another level: not a word that didn’t need to be there.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes