The Best of Animals - Hardcover

Grodstein, Lauren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892552816 ISBN 13: 9780892552818

Publisher: Persea, 2002

Synopsis

The protagonists of the ten stories in this charming, highly affecting collection may be a familiar bunch -- young, bright, literate -- but the way in which their lives are documented is anything but typical. With unusual compassion and nimble prose, Lauren Grodstein gives us some of the most appealing characters in recent memory, each one consumed by conflicting feelings of passion and inertia, as well as a vague suspicion that life holds some yet-to-be-delivered punch line, which will shed light on it all.

Grodstein has the striking capacity to locate instances of true human vulnerability in her writing, and to portray the pathos, humor, and surprising moments of hope therein. In "Lonely Planet, " an ad exec halfheartedly consoles and then desperately fondles her drunken best friend after a breakup; in "Family Vacation, " etiquette breaks down among relatives stuck in an immobilized monorail at Disney World; and, in "Hey, Beautiful, " a college senior can't take the heat in that epicenter of self-loathing and humiliation -- the singles bar. Throughout The Best of Animals, Grodstein gives us teens and twentysomethings frozen in the headlights of oncoming adulthood. This first collection, full of implicit insight, marks the emergence of a fresh literary voice.

About this title

About the Author:

Lauren Grodstein grew up in Haworth, New Jersey, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her writing has appeared in Virgin Fiction 2, Women's World Magazine, Time Out New York, and on www.mrbellersneighborhood.com.

From Publishers Weekly:

Grodstein captures the uncertain nuances of the mating game in her impressive debut collection, consisting of 10 lively, smart stories that focus on 20-something men and women in urban settings who are trying to reconcile their ambivalent feelings for one another. "Lonely Planet" exemplifies Grodstein's modus operandi perfectly, as a young ad executive consoles the guy she yearns for after he breaks up with his new love, then assuages her own loneliness by slipping into bed with him after a night of drinking. "On the Side" explores a similar motif from a male perspective, as a young married man with some serious fidelity issues goes out to buy cold medicine for his sick wife and purchases a package of condoms while torturing himself with vivid images of her imagined betrayals. "Yellow Morning" offers yet another take on the jealousy angle when a woman delays her visit to see her best friend, Caitlin, whose mother is dying, because she finally acknowledges to herself that Caitlin has casually seduced the only two men the narrator cared for. Grodstein tends toward bleakness, but she does have a romantic streak that she indulges quite successfully in "John on the Train: A Fable for Our Cynical Friends," a touching yarn about a young magazine editor who pines for a fellow passenger after he experiences love at first sight on a New York subway. Grodstein's quirky voice and sassy, ironic humor make these stories come alive, and she uses first-person narration to create unusual, believable characters. Her voice becomes a bit familiar and redundant over the course of the collection, but that trait would probably serve her well as a novelist if she decides to try long-form narrative.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Persea
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0892552816
• ISBN 13: 9780892552818
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224