Description

Mary Gaitskill’s tales of desire and dislocation in 1980s New York caused a sensation with their frank, caustic portrayals of men and women’s inner lives. As her characters have sex, try and fail to connect, play power games and inflict myriad cruelties on each other, she skewers urban life with precision and candour.

‘Stubbornly original, with a sort of rhythm and fine moments that flatten you out when you don’t expect it, these stories are a pleasure to read’ Alice Munro

‘An air of Pinteresque menace hangs over these people’s social exchanges like black funereal bunting … Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail’ Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Publisher Review

Stubbornly original, with a sort of rhythm and fine moments that flatten you out when you don't expect it, these stories are a pleasure to read -- Alice Munro Pinteresque...Ms. Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail, that she is able to make even the most extreme situations seem real...[her] reportorial candor, uncompromised by sentimentality or voyeuristic charm...underscores the strength of her debut -- Michiko Kakutani Razor-sharp brilliance -- D. M. Thomas Quite honestly changed my life... I cannot believe I was 32 before I discovered it. I just thought it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever read and it now lives on my desk so that I can revisit it any time -- Pandora Sykes * The High Low * Delicious . . . comedy is balanced by genuine pathos, and Gaitskill is perceptive about how our desires can elude and confound even ourselves . . . Gaitskill masters human dynamics: the nuance of her portrayal of emotion and psychology; the daring of her selection of challenging subjects and people; the quality of her prose, with its occasional flights of gorgeous imagery . . . Her stories portray oddballs and free spirits on the fringes of 80s New York, often embroiled in complex sexual or romantic lives -- Matt Rowland Hill * i, The book I read every New Year *