Bad Behavior

Satisfying depth of character development within each short story. Gaitskill has a knack for infusing seemingly unrelatable or outlandish stories with an air of the familiar by evoking a kind of revelatory moment spurred by quotidien circumstances - like the older lady witnessing the couple in the park in "Daisy's Valentine" or the moment of listening to the radio in "Heaven". These moments feel relatable because they are described in just enough detail to leave room for the chance to imprint one's own memories in these small pockets of the story.

OBSESSED!!!

an anthology about relationships of all kinds involving flawed, desperate, vulnerable, cruel people & all the things we mistake for love— desire, infatuation, fantasy, lust, attraction. gaitskill has no interest in boyfriend-girlfriend arrangements or marriages (those that do appear are forgettable and passionless)— she explores entanglements, flings, affairs with unfulfilled, hurt people. the only exception to this rule is the last story heaven, a vivid, unforgettable family portrait.

striking first lines. i think i love every first line in this book. her prose is real, precise, oddly specific. gaitskill pulls out liminal, unnamed moods/feelings/emotion from a forgettable yet vexing part of your day or a past interaction/memory… a master of undertone, she snatches the in-betweenness of micro interactions, clears the fog of ambiguity and confusion.

need to spend a few more days w this book but god!

mary gaitskill u will always be famous to me.....literally such an amazing collection. kinda crazy that she has this reputation for being like edgy and violent...idk she writes all her characters w so much empathy and nuance that u can tell shes just super interested in how people connect with each other, theres actually something sooooo disarmingly sincere and human about these stories without being sentimental. also just so good on basic sentence level, so many perfect phrases and images. also so strange to read such a clear progenitor of 'sad girl lit' without any of the weird reflexitivity / ironic distance / alienation that is such a hallmark feature in contemporary literature...u kinda forget how annoying it is until its not there lol.

Surprisingly lovely, subtle variations in voice across the stories. Some of those work better than others, but I enjoyed the book more and more as it went on—though that may have been a matter of resetting expectations.

3.5/5

Why would this be enjoyable...had to give up midway through

I often don't love the endings of these stories, but on the whole, they are very well made stories about trying to understand who you are in relation to other people (maybe? I just made that up off the cuff without a lot of thought). I'll certainly be reading more Gaitskill.