A review by dilan11
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black

emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved some of the stories, others not so much. Here's a breakdown of the stories.

"The Guide"

Well not exactly my subject matter - philandering husband, fear mongered wife, blind smart aleck daughter. But I am propelled forward so Black is definitely a good writer. 
None of the characters are likeable but I am okay with that.

The title story "If I love you, I would tell you this" is interesting, a bit chilling. Not sure I was impressed by it as I could have been.  In fact, I think the first story was better. Certainly not bored. Let me see where it all goes.

In the middle of "Immortalizing John Parker". I love this story. It is the first one with an interesting character, an older artist. The first two stories were with characters defined by their misery. This character is miserable too but she is something way more than that. Now I find myself in the hands of a very good writer.

Domestic dispute that's the key word for these stories.  Even in the story I loved about the artist, ultimately it was a domestic dispute. Not a bad thing just not my kind of thing.

Intrigued by "Harriett Elliott" even though I typically don't like adolescent narrators. It's too much about the voice and the attitude but this is different. This is about the other character in the story. Wise choice to use a diiferent narrator than Harriet. Sort of the same choice that was made in the Great Gatsby.

Black's domestic drama edges into the horrific like unexpected gruesome death. Not sure if that is needed. But at this point I am very clear that she writes very well. It is clear, concise, forward moving. Something that sounds easy but it's not.

"Gaining Ground" was not connected for me. 

"Tableau Vivant" is a 5 star story. Aging and older people are so under-represented in literature. This is done so well. I can feel the main character Jean and all of her losses.

I don't like "Pine" at all. The dialogue between mother and daughter feels cliched.

Not loving "A Country where You Once Lived" More domestic disputes, more entitled white people problems. "A Country Where You Once Lived"  initially was a story I thought might not have death but does indeed have it with a miscarriage. I guess someone told Black that everything must be dramatic but it's not true.

"Divorced, Beheaded, Survived" - Black does a good younger narrator but this story doesn't have to be so neatly drawn - I feel like she's bashing us over the head with meaning. 
Of course, there is no loss more final and horrible than the loss to death but that pathos must be earned. Throwing dead bodies (not literally but you know what I mean) into every story takes away its poignance.

Longest story "The History of the World" is very well written even if I don't much connect to it. Black with her clear language and expert plotting has the makings of a very good novelist. And despite my initial misgivings (here we go - another dramatic death story) it turns out to be a fantastic story. It raised my overall ranking to 3.75. Taking the character out of her misery to see another's miserty (the waitress Anna) and then to connect with that character was a relief both artistically and ethically.