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A review by literarycrushes
Show Them a Good Time by Nicole Flattery
5.0
The all-female protagonists in Nicole Flattery’s short story collection, Show Me A Good Time, are a subversive group. Each woman is in the midst of some turmoil in her life – abuse, financial ruin, anxiety – and in most cases, the problem is not something she cares to do anything about. Flattery’s (often self-described) nihilistic and ambitionless characters have a strong resemblance to those of Ottessa Moshfegh’s in My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Halle Butler’s The New Me. Rather than treat these attributes as shortcomings, Flattery uses them to as jumping off points for unique brand of dark comedy.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. I struggled a bit with ‘Abortion, A Love Story,’ which was unfortunately the longest of the collection, set on a dystopian college campus where two female students set about writing an absurdist play. But Flattery’s unusual perceptions about her characters’ inability to connect felt refreshing, even on a subject that has been written about endlessly in the last few years.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. I struggled a bit with ‘Abortion, A Love Story,’ which was unfortunately the longest of the collection, set on a dystopian college campus where two female students set about writing an absurdist play. But Flattery’s unusual perceptions about her characters’ inability to connect felt refreshing, even on a subject that has been written about endlessly in the last few years.