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The title of this book is the only thing complicated about it, and that's just the way I want it. Meloy's sentences are, as always, crisp, spare and thoughtful. As someone who reads an unbelievable number of books where the crazy sentence structure could be considered the point, I find Meloy incredibly refreshing. Beyond that, though, these are beautiful stories. Much like Montana, the state in which almost all of the stories are set, these stories are harsh and cold, but still beautiful. She gets the details just right, which is great as there are very few to be found. The two most resonant stories, for me, are "The Girlfriend" and "Two Step." Both have sucker-punch moments, ones where the true motives of the main characters are given almost as asides before blossoming into the psychological core of the story. I don't want to give anything away but to say that the fate of the father in "The Girlfriend" will stay with me for a very long time. The only story in this collection that really didn't do much for me is "Spy v. Spy," which is the story of two grown brothers who can't relate to one another. It was well-crafted, as the all are, but ultimately not very interesting. I don't read short stories in general, but I would read anything that Maile Meloy wrote.

2022-10-29 03:35