Curtis Sittenfeld has been one of my favorite authors since I read Prep many years ago and this was a solid example of her work. The stories in this collection were engaging, timely, and character-driven. The characters were messy and realistic and fleshed out well. The stories really felt like mini-novels in that sense. I didn't really have a favorite story, but it was fun to read the last one and get a glimpse at what Lee Fiora from Prep is up to these days.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

This short story collection was definitely written for middle age women and millennials who enjoy reflecting on their paths in life. This seems like a meditation on “how did I get here?” Theres quite a bit of boarding school, divorce, and coming of age. Overall, I thought it was slightly profound, and mildly entertaining. I think there is definitely an audience out there for these stories, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

MY REVIEW: This is my favorite short story collection I have ever read! Each of the 12 stories has its own unique voice, showcasing the brief, yet meaningful moments and nuances of everyday life. The characters truly felt like friends you’ve known forever telling you about a pivotal, yet inconspicuous moment in their life that shaped them into who they are. Sittenfeld’s sharp wit and humor draw you in; no drama, no frills, just everyday scenarios, inter- and intrapersonal relationships.

This collection has something for everyone; marriage, love, fame, relationships, friendship, artistic ambition, neighbors and neighborhoods, parenthood, and more. Thought-provoking and hilarious, Sittenfeld expertly peels back the layers of our inner lives.

I loved all of these stories, but the ones that stood out among the rest are Show Don’t Tell, The Marriage Clock, White Women LOL, and Follow-Up.

5/5!!!!!!!

I'm a Curtis Sittenfeld fan. The early stories were provocative and interesting, but I didn't always feel like the characters were landing. And then I put it down for two months! Some of this was that I didn't read a physical book at all--lots of football, basketball, family and holiday bustle, but when I went back I knew what had really happened. I was in the middle of a story of a woman getting a callback on her mammogram and reflecting on her life--and since mine was upcoming, I guess I just shelved it and blocked it out. I'm always nervous as my annual date approaches, especially as I near the age of my mother's diagnosis. So that's how real the stories are! Once I got the all clear and jumped back in, that ended up being one of my favorite stories. And of course the update on Prep is worth the wait, but not the only reason to check out this volume. I'm sure that any reader could find something that will resonate with their own circumstances. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to share my review.

I’ve been a fan of Curtis Sittenfeld since Prep, so I was excited to sit down with her new short story collection. Many of these stories are about women in a similar place as me - middle-aged, Midwestern, white, - and they involve much reflection on life now contrasted with life as a young person, in school or early adulthood. The characters are interesting but also feel like people I could know, experiencing situations that seem realistic.

I found each story to be easy to read and to give me a lot to think about. I didn’t want to rush through this book; rather, I read one story at a time, never more than one a day.

You’ll enjoy this book if you find yourself in a similar reflective mid-life place.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

No question, Sittenfeld is incredible at writing short stories. She manages to develop characters and storylines in a few words, something some struggle to do in 400+ pages. I am always impressed with her writing ability. That being said, I struggled to connect with these short stories. That being said, most of the stories bored me. I struggled to connect with them. I loved that they were middle aged women focused - stories about love, heartbreak, ambition, marriage, friendship and family. I just struggled to find the interest to finish most of the short stories. Honestly, many of them just felt boring and flat to me. There wasn't enough oomph, despite the characters and stories seeming so real. I am not a huge short story person, I often find they are lacking in something, so maybe that was my issue with this book. Overall, Sittenfeld is a talented writer, but this one just fell flat to me.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

12 short stories about middle-aged women, mostly centered around friendship or marriage. There are few twists or surprises but rather glimpses into rather ordinary lives. Strong writing which left me reflecting on my life.

My love for Curtis Sittenfeld continues. If she can bang out another full length novel soon, I'd welcome it, but these short stories were satisfying in the meantime. I most enjoyed the stories The Patron Saints of Middle Age and Lost, but Not Forgotten. My favorite story from the book was The Richest Babysitter in the World. As a current resident of Seattle and a former babysitter put in weird situations, Kit's story felt entirely realistic. The richness of the strangely personal relationship between Diane and Kit born out of loneliness, and Bryan's complete surprise that Kit didn't want to work for his weird startup? Chef's kiss. What I wouldn't give to have this normal gossip background on such a public divorce like Melinda Gates or Mackenzie Bezos!

In Giraffe and Flamingo, I was struck by this passage: "One of the surprises of adulthood for me has been that as the years pass, it has become less rather than more clear to me whether I'm a good or bad person." I feel this deeply at 37. Thank you, Random House for this ARC!

Short story collections aren't easy. They either aren't cohesive or they're so entwined that it reads like a novel. This one was done perfectly. Connecting themes throughout, complicated characters, and rich dialogue as only Sittenfeld can do. Not to be missed.

I so very much enjoyed this collection of twelve short stories from Curtis Sittenfeld. There are themes of humanity in modern times, reflection on youth, adult relationships.

Curtis Sittenfeld assembled twelve short stories that provide insight into very ordinary lives - and that’s what makes this collection shine. Each story has a different protagonist and supporting cast, and each centers on a seemingly innocuous moment that, to the main character, is pivotal.

It is a look at those moments in middle age that cause reflection and make one ask, “What if?” The stories look at paths taken, decisions made, and the events in our past that shape who we are. There’s no major drama, no surprise twists; just simply, everyday life scenarios and relationships.

Sittenfeld’s wry humor and sharp wit make this an entertaining way to lose yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

In this collection of short stories, Curtis Sittenfeld explores the complexities of life in middle age, exploring the ups and downs of love, marriage, and divorce, the value of reflection and missed opportunities, the impact one encounter can have on your life, the joy of long-term friendships, and rude awakenings. This isn't pulpy or dramatic though—each story unfurls in a slice-of-life fashion, guiding readers through these characters' days and their thoughts, sometimes flashing back to the past, and leaving room for unanswered questions, messiness, and uncertainty.

The characters are all flawed and some of them are not meant to be likable—but Sittenfeld, though unflinching in her depictions and critiques, captures nuances of ambition, privilege, politics, and moral hypocrisy, making these characters feel extremely real and surprisingly vulnerable as they navigate awkward social interactions, unflattering viral moments, uncomfortable conversations, and humiliating recollections.

But these stories aren't heavy or chastising—Sittenfeld's wit shines throughout, but especially in FOLLOW-UP, a story about a woman who learns she has a mass in her breast and considers life around her, and LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, where Lee Fiora from Prep attends her class reunion. While these stories may not be gripping, they're enjoyable and amusing, even when the characters themselves are not.

This was the first ever story collection I've read, and it was such a delight!

I will read anything Curtis Sittenfeld puts out, and these short stories captured the cozy, reflective and intelligent writing style I've come to know and love from her.

In this collection, Sittenfeld covers several themes with a retroactive gaze: unhappy marriages, celebrity, whiteness and more.

"I'd failed to anticipate how calamitous the standard erosion of affection over time could be when you started with a modicum as opposed to an abundance."

Already, I've referenced her titular story "Show Don't Tell" several times because the way she introduced the concept of narcissism of small differences was so powerful.

Show Don’t Tell - Stories, a solid, impressive collection of twelve short stories, firmly ensconces Curtis Sittenfeld as one of our preeminent modern short story writers. Her talent at writing prose with mature, often uninhibited characters experiencing life with its messy complications, contradictions, and challenges, deftly takes us into their perceptions and rationale for decisions they make at pivotal points in their lives. These engrossing, unique stories vary from a group of grad art students maniacally fighting for prime second-year grants with all their backbiting and strategizing, to a writer being interviewed about his wildly popular marriage guidance book titled The Marriage Clock based on the real-life Doomsday Clock - of all things, to a woman struggling to administer a questionnaire on the believed validity of the Mike Pence Rule, to a woman looking back on her time babysitting for a (recognizable) couple who eventually become famous and vastly wealthy, and to more such intriguing stories. Common aspects of modern life in these stories cover a wide terrain from ethics and ambition, wealth and class, appearances and self-images, racism (“multiracial socializing” gone askew) and white privilege, the dynamics of marriage and/or friendship, pandemic instability, politics, and navigating “right and wrong.” One character sums up the obscureness of the last with “…as the years pass, it has become less rather than more clear to me whether I’m a good or bad person.” The writer superbly creates “undignified moments” that test her characters and may even question the reader of the story. In one story at the end is an amazing rhetorical probe by the narrator – “WHAT IS THIS A story about?” with tendrils of several unanswered questions following to perhaps not provide clarity but to intimate life can be nuanced. Look to the titles of the stories for the writer’s implicit motifs - maybe. The humor is well-placed, enjoyable, and effective (such as published insipid comparisons of what Women’s Fiction means). Marvelous minor details (a backpack of pale blue with butterflies popping up more than once in a story to marking explicitly that it is Daylight Savings Time) add to the rich reading of real-life characters and events that affect them, all created by a master writer, not just of short stories but novels as well.

I had not read much by Curtis Sittenfeld, but after reading Show Don’t Tell, that will change quickly – starting with the earlier short story collection You Think It, I’ll Say it. I am grateful to Random House Publishing Group, NetGalley, and Curtis Sittenfeld for early access to this remarkable short story collection. This opinion is all my own.

It is so tough to give an overall star rating to a collection of short stories. Some of them I really enjoyed and were easily five stars. On the other hand, there were other stories that I just flat out did not like. Therefore, I tried to base my three stars as a bit of an average of the two extremes.

On the plus side, all of them are, no doubt, well-written. Her characters come to life, and the reader easily slides into each story. The author also lived in St. Louis for several years and used it as a setting for many of these stores and some of her previous novels. It was fun to have one of the stories take place a literal two minute drive from my house.

However...some stories just didn't work for me. I felt like the author really wanted to talk about race, politics, and divorce in a thought-provoking way, but it often came up as forced, pretentious, and sometimes cringy. I feel like the real-life news is like drinking from a firehose lately. I'd rather have my books be a bit of an escape right now.

Bottom line: I really want to like this more. 😭

I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I love Sittenfeld's other books so couldn't pass this one up! And because so many of them are about middle aged women and their issues, it was satisfying to see her write about friendship, families, and those small issues that plague them daily!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Short story collections can be hit or miss for me… not just the stories themselves but actually as a genre. But I honestly found every story in this collection intriguing, smart, compelling and readable. I enjoyed this collection even more than Sittenfeld’s previous collection. Two of my favorite stories here are The Hug and The Richest Babysitter In The World. The stories prompted me to think deeply about marriage, modern life, aging and other themes that I think will be thought-provoking for a lot of readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

A fabulous collection of short stories about everything including marriage, parenthood, friendship, work, relationships, and more. The characters are often a bit awkward but in the most endearing, real way. And there’s even a story that’s a little sequel to her first novel, Prep.

Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my favorite writers - I’ve read all of her books and three of them have landed on my top ten of the year in years past. And what I said about her first short story collection is once again true here - she is such a sharp, incisive, talented writer that she genuinely can bring a character to life and make you care about them more in a single short story than many other writers can do in an entire novel.

4.25 stars

One hill I will always die on is that we don’t see enough midlife female main characters in literary fiction. This book definitely rights that wrong. Most of the stories are about women in their forties and fifties with compelling problems and rich inner lives. Two standout stories for me were one about a white woman who must deal with the aftermath of being caught “Karening” on camera and one about a middle-aged teacher who catches up with an old friend who’s become a self-help guru. All of the stories in this book are beautifully written, complex and above all, fun. Curtis Sittenfeld is a genius whose writing never fails to move me, and this book is no exception.

I will read ANYTHING by Curtis Sittenfeld! This is a strong collection of short stories which are heartfelt and beautifully written!
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book.