More than stories, the thirteen pieces contained within We Want What We Want, are fragile, private slices of life. In some cases, the events span several years, but each still speaks to the significance of a tiny moment, one small action, and the longstanding impact that even the most minor interaction can have.

Ohlin’s greatest strength is in her ability to write relationships. I don’t mean the simple, outward descriptions of how one person is connected to another, but the sharp edges and deep tensions that exist within those connections for sometimes inexplicable (and sometimes very explicable) reasons.

My favourites were Risk Management, a story about the barriers we nurture between ourselves and others and how attachments will find their own ways to overcome them, Something About Love which chronicles the expansion that a blended family requires and the twists and turns that can result, and Nights Back Then, detailing a sequence of decisions made with the heart and consequences that are suffered as a result of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and House of Anansi Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review. We Want What We Want is now available from your favourite local book seller.

I am not usually a fan of short stories but I loved Alix Ohlin's other books. These stories don't disappoint, they are darkly funny and very contemporary. For fans of Sally Rooney and Lauren Oyler.

The title of We Want What We Want comes from the short story "The Brooks Brothers Guru", in which a character says, "“Schopenhauer knew that human desire caused pain and difficulty in the world, but our will is intractable. We want what we want.” The thirteen short stories in this collection seem to primarily examine this idea of thwarted desire as being the source of pain in the world. Each story contrasts people in opposite situations — married vs single, money vs none, settled vs free — and while many of the characters don’t seem to be entirely happy in their own lives, they don’t necessarily envy the people who made different choices; it’s not the circumstances here but the craving for some outer unknown that upends us. With some darkly funny scenes and some scenes that startle with their relatable humanity, Alix Ohlin has crafted a strong collection here; a little samey-same when read all together, nothing that totally mesmerised me, but a solid read with many well-observed moments nonetheless.