Name: You Think It, I'll Say It
Rating: 3.59 (50 reviews)
ISBN: 9780525590354

Curtis Sittenfeld

"Published ... in association with Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC"--Title page verso.

Stories

You Think It, I'll Say It

Jennifer

Overall, I was entertained. White People stories that I was entertained by! The publisher’s description is spot on. With all books of short stories, I have to take note of each story, otherwise I will forget even more quickly than a regular book of what I just read. AKA I usually feel like books of short stories are a waste of time so the synopses below are a way to make me feel better about it not being a waste of time. Gender Studies Nell and Henry have been dating for 11 years and break up because Henry has an affair with a younger woman named Bridget. Nell sleeps with a random man and struggles with her feelings about all of it. 8/10 The World Has Many Butterflies Julie, a suburban wife with kids, has a crush on Graham, Gayle’s husband. She develops a crush on him because she has fun talking to him. He does not feel the same. She realizes this late and that she was in her own world about how she was interpreting the situation. 7/10 Vox Clamantis in Deserto An unnamed 19 year old Dartmouth student narrator befriends a girl named Rae. Rae has a younger boyfriend still in high school named Noah. The narrator goes on a trip with Rae to visit her boyfriend. Rae leaves her behind after a fight with Noah and the narrator decides to shed her college persona and comes on to Noah. Noah takes her virginity in the school gym storage room. Years later, Isaac, a friend of Rae’s and the narrator’s, is happily married to the narrator. The lesson is that when you get to college, everyone is probably an insecure virgin like you. So...do you. 7/10 Bad Latch A woman has a baby named Sadie. She runs into this woman named Gretchen at various baby classes. Gretchen is kind of annoying. One day, the narrating woman has a bad day and Gretchen consoles her. They become unlikely friends. 6/10 Plausible Deniability William is a 40 year old bachelor in finance. His brother is Mark, who is married to Libby. William and Mark are close. Mark confides in William his adulterous fantasies. William has some ladies in queue but emails classical music stuff to and from a mystery woman. They clearly have a common interest and real connection. The mystery woman is Libby. Plot twist! 10/10 A Regular Couple Jason and the narrator are celebrating their honeymoon. While there, the narrator sees a mean girl from her high school, Ashley, and her new husband, Ed (also on their honeymoon). The jealously, spitefulness, and disdain for said mean girl plays out in the narrator’s and Jason’s relationship over the course of a few days. 7/10 Off the Record Nina and her six month old baby, Zoe, travel to LA so Nina can write a profile on a celebrity named Kelsey. Kelsey is petty and shrewd and essentially ruins Nina’s career. 6/10 The Prairie Wife Casey and Kirsten are married with sons. Kirsten follows Lucy on social media, but most importantly, Twitter. Her handles call her the Prairie Wife. Lucy is her most authentic self on Twitter in the mornings. Kirsten lurks. Lucy’s persona is an annoying, religious goody goody, and says things like “jiminy crickets” and “shnookerdoodles”. Kristen and Lucy knew each other from a camp during college. They did lesbian things together. Kristen thinks Lucy is a huge hypocrite for being a religious figure but bisexual. Lucy later comes out on national TV as bisexual. It is then made clear that Casey is a woman. Kirsten tells Casey that she misses someone being excited about her then falls asleep peacefully. 7/10 Volunteers Are Shining Stars The narrator, Frances, is a volunteer at a women’s shelter in DC that provides respite childcare after dinner for the mothers. There is a new volunteer named Alaina. The other established volunteer is Karen. The narrator is wary of Alaina. Frances has some quirks, persistent handwashing and questionable asexuality or just lack of want of intimacy. One day, after a slew of questionable decisions by Alaina, Frances strangles her. She quits volunteering. She later discovers that Alaina has been named Volunteer of the Month. Would read a whole book of this 10/10 Do-Over Clay receives an email from an old classmate named Sylvia. Sylvia and Clay meet up for dinner. They have awkward conversations, including the Trump election. She even berates him for being a white, male, conservative at one point. Turns out Sylvia used to like him back in school and she wanted to see what he was like now. He thinks she ended up “weird and bitter”. After the “fake date”, they talk on the phone. It’s awkward. 6/10

A dazzling collection of short stories from the New York Times bestselling author of Prep, American Wife, and Eligible Curtis Sittenfeld has established a reputation as a sharp chronicler of the modern age who humanizes her subjects even as she skewers them. Now, with this first collection of short fiction, her "astonishing gift for creating characters that take up residence in readers' heads" ( The Washington Post ) is showcased like never before. Throughout the ten stories in You Think It, I'll Say It, Sittenfeld upends assumptions about class, relationships, and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided. In "The World Has Many Butterflies," married acquaintances play a strangely intimate game with devastating consequences. In "Vox Clamantis in Deserto," a shy Ivy League student learns the truth about a classmate's seemingly enviable life. In "A Regular Couple," a high-powered lawyer honeymooning with her husband is caught off guard by the appearance of the girl who tormented her in high school. And in "The Prairie Wife," a suburban mother of two fantasizes about the downfall of an old friend whose wholesome-lifestyle empire may or may not be built on a lie.

stories

You think it, I'll say it

A dazzling, smart and razor-sharp story collection by Curtis Sittenfeld, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rodham and American Wife. The theme that unites these stories is how even the cleverest people tend to misread others, and how much we all deceive ourselves. Sharp and tender, funny and wise, they show Sittenfeld's knack for creating real, believable characters that spring off the page, while also skewering contemporary mores with brilliant dry wit. 'DO-OVER', ONE OF THE STORIES IN THIS COLLECTION, WAS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 SUNDAY TIMES EFG SHORT STORY AWARD.

Ten scorching stories of self-deception by the Sunday Times bestselling author

Kendall McClain

I see the vision but I do not see an interesting execution

Imogen west

So funny and uncomfortably relatable in parts

Fantastische verhalenbundel. geweldig hoe de personages worden beschreven, heel raak en hedendaags. 

Akkemay Lammers

Fantastische verhalenbundel. geweldig hoe de personages worden beschreven, heel raak en hedendaags. 



"Every bit as smart, sensitive, funny, and genuine as her phenomenally popular novels,"* a dazzling collection from the New York Times bestselling author of Prep, American Wife, and Eligible "I really loved all the characters in this book. They're so complex and interesting, and in every story, you'll find them going through these pivotal moments in their lives."--Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick) NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PEOPLE AND USA TODAY AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post * NPR * Financial Times * San Francisco Chronicle * New York Public Library * Refinery29 A suburban mother of two fantasizes about the downfall of an old friend whose wholesome lifestyle empire may or may not be built on a lie. A high-powered lawyer honeymooning with her husband is caught off guard by the appearance of the girl who tormented her in high school. A shy Ivy League student learns the truth about a classmate's seemingly enviable life. Curtis Sittenfeld has established a reputation as a sharp chronicler of the modern age who humanizes her subjects even as she skewers them. Now, with this first collection of short fiction, her "astonishing gift for creating characters that take up residence in readers' heads" (The Washington Post) is showcased like never before. Throughout the ten stories in You Think It, I'll Say It, Sittenfeld upends assumptions about class, relationships, and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided. With moving insight and uncanny precision, Curtis Sittenfeld pinpoints the questionable decisions, missed connections, and sometimes extraordinary coincidences that make up a life. Indeed, she writes what we're all thinking--if only we could express it with the wit of a master satirist, the storytelling gifts of an old-fashioned raconteur, and the vision of an American original. *Booklist (starred review) LONGLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION "At once psychologically acute, deftly crafted and deeply pleasurable."--San Francisco Chronicle "Witty and buoyant . . . Each deceptively simple and breezy story is masterfully paced and crafted."--Chicago Tribune "Perfectly paced, witty and laced with unexpected twists: Every story here sticks its landing. Whatever [Sittenfeld] writes, we'll read it."--People "Razor-sharp, often hilarious . . . [Curtis Sittenfeld] is a sharp observer of human nature and human relationships. . . . A witty, breezy, zeitgeist-y collection."--USA Today

linda

loved this book, lmk if you read it too :)

Caitlin Snyder

I think I'm just not a short story person, this is the second collection of short stories I've read and I didn't like it any more than the first. The characters were all mostly horrible and I didn't much enjoy reading it.

Jan Talkington

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | “I had no idea, of course, that of all the feelings of my youth that would pass, it was this one, of an abundance of time so great as to routinely be unfillable, that would vanish with the least ceremony.” 

Review also found here. 

Curtis Sittenfeld was the first author I read outside of YA literature all the way back in middle school. This was, of course, when Prep had only just recently been published. I remember not fully comprehending certain parts of Prep, due to my age, but I remember noticing something full of sparks in her prose--you know good writing when you feel it. And, boy, did I feel Prep even if it wasn't what I had gone into it expecting.

You Think It, I'll Say It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year for that reason alone. I've never really disliked any book penned by her. When I say Sittenfeld is one of the best writers of our time, I mean it--and this collection of short stories proves this. If you were in doubt about her abilities after Eligible (which, I think, wasn't given much of a fair chance amongst readers) then You Think It, I'll Say It will clear it up for you. Although short stories aren't always works I am keen on, Sittenfeld blows each and every one of them out of the park with her thoughtful writing and realistic characters.

I find that one of the biggest problems in short stories is that you simply don't get enough time to get to know the characters. Not truly. You Think It, I'll Say It is not one of those collections. Do I wish that each story had a novel of its own? Perhaps. Some more than others. Am I crushed by the fact that we only get so long with them? No. The way Sittenfeld crafted each was just enough to get to know them in pieces and she tells the stories she wants to tell within each of them beautifully.

You got to know pieces of their present-day lives as well as their pasts. I think that it just ties together wonderfully; giving us just enough of a glimpse into the character's life and times without being over-kill or underwhelming. It is that perfect middle ground of life. As always, Sittenfeld writes life as it is and always will be--complex, thought-provoking, etc.

There's something in You Think It, I'll Say It that feels like a retrospective and I really loved it. I love the tone that comes with each of the stories, varying from character to character and plot to plot. It came at just the right time for me and will surely go down as one of my favourite releases of the year. This book will be perfect for the humid summer nights that lay ahead and I can't wait to hear what Sittenfeld cooks up next for her readers.

As for the stories, I can't give away too much in terms of plotlines because--again--they are all short stories. It's difficult to put thoughts to words when it comes to collections like this, so all I can offer you guys is, "fantastic." Which is such an obvious choice. I mean, hello? When is Curtis Sittenfeld's work not fantastic?

My personal favourite stories were, however: The Prairie Wife, Do-Over, Gender Studies and Volunteers Are Shining Stars. Overall, You Think It, I'll Say It is a well-rounded collection that will surely strike a chord with its audience. Sittenfeld will never not be one of the best writers of her generation.

You Think It, I'll Say It Stories

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