(Random House)
The British author Will Self once said, “A short story is a shard, a sliver, a vignette.” The best ones land a blow. Or slice a vein. Not every story in Curtis Sittenfeld’s “You Think It, I’ll Say It” succeeds to that degree, but several do, and as a collection it is a thoroughly satisfying investment of time. Sittenfeld, the author of bestselling contemporary novels such as “Prep” and “Eligible,” brings her prodigious talents of observation, plotting and satirical wit to stories such as “Plausible Deniability,” in which a married man conducts a secret email correspondence about classical music with his brother and morning running partner’s wife; and “The Prairie Wife,” in which a gay woman obsesses over a former lover’s new and unlikely fame as the social media darling of conservative homemakers. Sittenfeld’s stories, while specific to our time, technology, politics and popular culture, contain substantial themes of envy, identity and expectations, and are sure to resonate with readers across a range of ages and experiences. I, for one, binged on this brave and entertaining collection.
— Reviewed by Becky Dayton of The Vermont Book Shop
 
 
 
6 More Distinctly Modern Short Story Collections
 
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Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
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Awayland: Stories by Ramona Ausubel
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen