You Think It Ill Say It - Hardcover

Curtis Sittenfeld

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0857525387 ISBN 13: 9780857525383

Publisher: Random House, 2018

Synopsis

‘Most people I know who have read anything by Curtis Sittenfeld would read anything else the woman wrote, me included’ The Times

In ‘The World Has Many Butterflies’, a married woman flirts with a man she meets at parties by playing You think it, I’ll say it, putting into words the bitchy things she guesses he's thinking about their fellow guests. But she is in for a shock when, in time, she finds out what was really in his mind. ‘The Nominee’ sees Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, confessing her surprising true feelings about a woman journalist she has sparred with over the years. In ‘Gender Studies’, a visiting academic sleeps with her taxi driver, for what turns out to be all the wrong reasons.

The theme that unites these stories in this dazzling first collection by Curtis Sittenfeld is how even the cleverest people tend to misread others, and how much we all deceive ourselves. Sharp and tender, funny and wise, this collection shows Sittenfeld’s knack for creating real, believable characters that spring off the page, while also skewering contemporary mores with brilliant dry wit.

About this title

About the Author

Curtis Sittenfeld is the author of the word-of-mouth bestseller American Wife, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize, as was her first novel, Prep, a New York Times bestseller. Sisterland, her fourth novel, was a Richard & Judy Book Club pick, and her most recent Sunday Times bestseller was Eligible, a contemporary retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Her books are translated into 25 languages. She is married, with two young children, and lives in the American Mid-West. Visit her website, www.curtissittenfeld.com

Review

"Each of these stories could be expanded into a blockbusting novel. There is no writer alive who inhabits her characters so knowingly, or is able to send up contemporary attitudes and mores as expertly...clever, funny, revealing and a joy to read." * Evening Standard * "A strong collection about false assumptions and double standards...in these 11 social comedies, whose preoccupations - gender dynamics, celebrity, class, envy and disenchantment - are at once universal and yet specific to the moment we are living through...You Think It, I'll Say It has caught the attention of Reese Witherspoon, who plans to turn it into a comedy series starring Kristen Wiig. Smart move." * The Times * "Has a rare and magical combination of accessibility, wit, and serious thinking. Sittenfeld was shortlisted for this year's Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, and she demonstrates these qualities again in this deft short story collection... Impossible to put down...She is saying what we are thinking." * Sunday Times * "The stories in You Think It, I'll Say It feel so contemporary that we might worry they will date - except we'll want a record of these times. We may be grateful for authors who chose to set their work in this exact political moment, when few Americans can maintain personal relationships across the Trump divide...The immediacy of these stories makes them effortlessly enjoyable to slide into, like new garments so comfortable that you decide to wear them out of the shop." -- Lionel Shriver * Financial Times * "Fans...won't be disappointed: the tales here condense lifetimes of confusion, betrayal and bad decisions into perfect miniatures in deadpan American prose." * Guardian *

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0857525387
• ISBN 13: 9780857525383
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256