The writing is excellent. Simple but sublime. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy the actual plots of or characters in most of the stories. Too many people finding they dislike their mate. I did find The Flyover State had its amusements and I loved the widow Marjorie in Marjorie and the Birds. The rest were just too unhappy for me.

my faves were:
pearls
fly-over stare
other people we married
marjorie and the birds
orient point
hot springs eternal

this was so boring

I like short fiction, and the writing is great, but there's nothing that memorable about any of these stories. I had to make it a goal to finish the book rather than naturally wanting to.

It's so rare for me to enjoy a short story collection as a whole. There's always one or two that aren't as good as the others or one that I don't like at all...but not with this collection. I'd read it all over again. Fantastic.

I didn't finish this one. I just could not get into the stories. It's a shame since I'm usually a huge Emma Straub fan!

I'm not really sure what to say about this book... Some stories were great, really sharp writing and excellent job setting the tone. Others fell really short. Pick it up if you're looking for a light airy read, or better yet read her book The Vacationers instead, which I preferred.

It has been a while since I have read a short story collection. And I'm not sure if I've read a collection of stories by the same author since high school. Most of these stories were pretty solid, but very few of them included anything too dramatic. The majority have their strength in the observational humor that runs below the surface of the story arcs. I also liked the three-dimensional characters that Straub puts into her stories.

The most successful stories are ones that focus primarily on two characters with differing attitudes to whether they are growing together or growing apart. Straub has a knack for presenting complicated emotions that run up against each other as the characters interact.

Still, I prefer anthologies with a range of voices or an author who tries a range of styles and genres within a collection ...