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Bad Thoughts
An exhilarating and delightfully deviant debut story collection that, with comedic precision and compulsive irreverence, explores the most surreal and inadmissible fantasies of contemporary women.
Nada Alic's women--the perverts, nobodies, reality TV stars, poetic hopefuls, shameless party girls, and self-help addicts of Los Angeles and its environs--are all wrestling with a shared stark reality: the modern world. To cope, they live in their baddest thoughts: the lush, strange landscape of female make-believe.
In "Earth to Lydia," a support group meets to enjoy earthly pleasures after achieving too much enlightenment, engaging in bizarre exercises that escalate to a point of violence and fear. The narrator of Ghost Baby--the spirit of a proto-child assigned to a couple whose chemistry is waning--writhes in disembodied frustration as its parents fail to conceive it. In "Daddy's Girl," the daughter of Eastern European immigrants tries to connect to her distant and difficult father through the invention of increasingly elaborate home maintenance repairs. And in "The Intruder," a lonely woman's break-in fantasy quickly builds to a full-blown obsession, until she finds an unwitting partner with whom to act it out.
Though each of Alic's characters thrive and ache in different circumstances, they all grapple with the most painful equations of modern life: love, trust, power, loneliness, desire, violation, and vengeance. And she conjures them all with a voice that is instantly arresting, unexpectedly hilarious, and absolutely unforgettable.
A VINTAGE ORIGINAL
Nada Alic's women--the perverts, nobodies, reality TV stars, poetic hopefuls, shameless party girls, and self-help addicts of Los Angeles and its environs--are all wrestling with a shared stark reality: the modern world. To cope, they live in their baddest thoughts: the lush, strange landscape of female make-believe.
In "Earth to Lydia," a support group meets to enjoy earthly pleasures after achieving too much enlightenment, engaging in bizarre exercises that escalate to a point of violence and fear. The narrator of Ghost Baby--the spirit of a proto-child assigned to a couple whose chemistry is waning--writhes in disembodied frustration as its parents fail to conceive it. In "Daddy's Girl," the daughter of Eastern European immigrants tries to connect to her distant and difficult father through the invention of increasingly elaborate home maintenance repairs. And in "The Intruder," a lonely woman's break-in fantasy quickly builds to a full-blown obsession, until she finds an unwitting partner with whom to act it out.
Though each of Alic's characters thrive and ache in different circumstances, they all grapple with the most painful equations of modern life: love, trust, power, loneliness, desire, violation, and vengeance. And she conjures them all with a voice that is instantly arresting, unexpectedly hilarious, and absolutely unforgettable.
A VINTAGE ORIGINAL
304 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
February 8, 2023
This collection made me despair because it seems to me that Nada Alic has a lovely understanding of language and verbal rhythms and yet in this collection she committed to a storytelling style that is already very crowded with other brilliant young (women) writers who choose to write cynically about slightly gross stuff.
April 18, 2023
love her voice. hours of pleasure.
July 6, 2022
I found myself very conflicted in rating this collection. I really wanted to like it, but I just feel like it genuinely was not for me. It had a great premise with the use of bringing our intrusive inner thoughts to life through whimsical characters, but I felt as though there was something missing throughout the entirety of this book. At some point, the characters began to mesh together, which may have been a choice taken by the author to make the reader focus more on the absurdity of the situation at hand (the stories are definitely plot driven), but I couldn't help but to want to understand the characters a little more as if they were real people in order to make it feel more real. I feel as though it would've aided in shock factor. I also felt as though there were some phrases/words that were used a little too often or just could've been explained a little differently. For example (sort of a spoiler but not really??), her use of the word 'feminist' to describe a man's sensual touch just took me out of it a little bit especially with it being used again. But, I could also admit it may be me being nit picky so don't mind my small little gripes in that portion haha. Upon finishing the stories, I didn't feel too much afterwards and would often forget what the previous story was about. As a fan of absurd works, I find these pieces settling in my mind for a good while afterwards and I just didn't really get that from this collection. However, to reiterate, I did enjoy the overall premise and I must be truthful in the fact that I did enjoy the works in the moment of reading them, but after some reflection I just felt like I was left wanting more and not in a satisfying way. There's a lot of potential, and I have hopes for what more is to come from Alic.
June 10, 2022
4.5
this is a collection of stories all revolving around a main character that is having (wait for it) bad thoughts. the stories are filled with hyper-specific relatable one-liners (my fave), annoying yet funny casts of characters and a flow of writing that makes reading this collection so easy, fun and fulfilling.
from a wellness cult that encourages selfishness to a woman who’s emotional turmoil manifests as a rash to someone fantasizing about their potential intruder to seeing inside the mind of bachelor contestants, there’s a whole array of odd characters in insane yet mundane situations doing the opposite of what is expected of them and i ate. this. up.
thank u net galley for the arc, i desperately wish i had a copy of this on my shelf😭
this comes out july 12 2022 PLEASE GO READ IT!!
this is a collection of stories all revolving around a main character that is having (wait for it) bad thoughts. the stories are filled with hyper-specific relatable one-liners (my fave), annoying yet funny casts of characters and a flow of writing that makes reading this collection so easy, fun and fulfilling.
from a wellness cult that encourages selfishness to a woman who’s emotional turmoil manifests as a rash to someone fantasizing about their potential intruder to seeing inside the mind of bachelor contestants, there’s a whole array of odd characters in insane yet mundane situations doing the opposite of what is expected of them and i ate. this. up.
thank u net galley for the arc, i desperately wish i had a copy of this on my shelf😭
this comes out july 12 2022 PLEASE GO READ IT!!
January 19, 2024
“We belong to a long lineage of women willing to risk public humiliation for a chance at a better life for ourselves and our children. What do we have to lose? We had nothing to begin with.”
It was more like a 4.5/5 (only because of the last two stories), but I still rounded up.
Never in the history of ever’s could a title be more accurate. Bad thoughts indeed.
The thing about bad thoughts is we all get them. Whether they come willingly or not. Instead of letting them go and not focusing on the negative or the unseemly, this book grips onto each individual thought and runs wild with it. Rampant. Full of need to nurture such thoughts.
It is the very definition of unhinged thoughts, not actions, just thoughts. I loved it. Each short story had its own trajectory and you didn’t know where it was going, until you reached the destination. Some endings shocked me completely. Others had me bursting with laughter. Either way, it was a one-way trip for me and I never wanted to come back.
It was more like a 4.5/5 (only because of the last two stories), but I still rounded up.
Never in the history of ever’s could a title be more accurate. Bad thoughts indeed.
The thing about bad thoughts is we all get them. Whether they come willingly or not. Instead of letting them go and not focusing on the negative or the unseemly, this book grips onto each individual thought and runs wild with it. Rampant. Full of need to nurture such thoughts.
It is the very definition of unhinged thoughts, not actions, just thoughts. I loved it. Each short story had its own trajectory and you didn’t know where it was going, until you reached the destination. Some endings shocked me completely. Others had me bursting with laughter. Either way, it was a one-way trip for me and I never wanted to come back.
February 10, 2023
3.75⭐️?
This book feels like it should be me to T. If I would’ve read this a year ago I would have been obsessed.
I was so confused on why I wasn’t clicking with this but after thinking & reading a few reviews, realized it was because I had read and loved short story collections by Lorrie Moore, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Miranda July last year and this collection felt derivative of those. These characters were familiar, these premises were familiar, the absurdity of it all was familiar.
I still laughed and enjoyed it but it was hard to take it out of this context once realized.
Two other quick things to note: each story is separated by a page of “jokes” à la Twitter one liners that get reposted on Insta stories ad nauseam. Some were funny, most were cringy.
The voice in each of these stories is…exactly the same? Even when the main character is a ghost baby yet to be brought into existence, it has the same personality as the 30 something yr old women in the other 14 stories. That, with the addition of the same references being used in multiple stories made it a little difficult to keep them separate in my mind.
I would still be really interested in reading Alic’s next piece, there’s a lot of potential here.
This book feels like it should be me to T. If I would’ve read this a year ago I would have been obsessed.
I was so confused on why I wasn’t clicking with this but after thinking & reading a few reviews, realized it was because I had read and loved short story collections by Lorrie Moore, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Miranda July last year and this collection felt derivative of those. These characters were familiar, these premises were familiar, the absurdity of it all was familiar.
I still laughed and enjoyed it but it was hard to take it out of this context once realized.
Two other quick things to note: each story is separated by a page of “jokes” à la Twitter one liners that get reposted on Insta stories ad nauseam. Some were funny, most were cringy.
The voice in each of these stories is…exactly the same? Even when the main character is a ghost baby yet to be brought into existence, it has the same personality as the 30 something yr old women in the other 14 stories. That, with the addition of the same references being used in multiple stories made it a little difficult to keep them separate in my mind.
I would still be really interested in reading Alic’s next piece, there’s a lot of potential here.
December 9, 2022
If I could give this 6 stars, I would. One of the best books I’ve read in years. Nearly every line had me laughing, but there’s still somehow so much poignancy, too.
I recommend listening to the audiobook since the author reads her work so perfectly. I think it’s a completely different, superior experience for this book.
Seriously, stop what you’re doing and read this book!
I recommend listening to the audiobook since the author reads her work so perfectly. I think it’s a completely different, superior experience for this book.
Seriously, stop what you’re doing and read this book!
August 14, 2022
Disturbing, delusional, delightful. It's also cathartic to read horrible thoughts written so hilariously and with a cliarity that makes me flinch at my own unkindness.
October 1, 2022
This was the August, 2022, selection for the Nervous Breakdown Book Club. It is a debut story collection and I had some issues with the stories in the beginning of the book. They are about young women who are insecure or who worry about things or who have morbid imaginations.
Somehow though, Nada Alic grew on me until I understood that the title, Bad Thoughts, is indicative of something we all do, that is to think bad thoughts that we do not share or, in my case, even admit.
When I listened to her interview on Otherppl, I learned that she is the daughter of Croatian immigrants to Canada where she grew up in somewhat reduced circumstances. Her parents worked hard to survive in their new country but did not provide much emotional care. Nada managed to move to Los Angeles, to find a sense of humor, but also to work hard learning to write, to get published and now is working on a novel.
I will read it!
Somehow though, Nada Alic grew on me until I understood that the title, Bad Thoughts, is indicative of something we all do, that is to think bad thoughts that we do not share or, in my case, even admit.
When I listened to her interview on Otherppl, I learned that she is the daughter of Croatian immigrants to Canada where she grew up in somewhat reduced circumstances. Her parents worked hard to survive in their new country but did not provide much emotional care. Nada managed to move to Los Angeles, to find a sense of humor, but also to work hard learning to write, to get published and now is working on a novel.
I will read it!
June 21, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My Selling Pitch:
Do you want to read a depressed woman’s musings about her awful behavior with no inclination for change? Would you enjoy reading what feels like the rough drafts of a scrapped novel? Can you tolerate pee mentioned constantly, eating disorders, and a protagonist with a toxic view on rape that will not change or improve?
Pre-reading:
I love feminist short stories, okay? Please don’t disappoint me.
Thick of it:
Immediately in on the eating disorders, okay. I'm tired of reading about girl envy manifesting as self-hate. They did it in the movie The Favor too. It’s like this new version of manic pixie dream girl, only it’s girl on girl without any saphicness. The toxic that girl envy. Oh God, that's terrifying. Men are terrifying. I don’t understand when women fixate on these types of girls. They give me anxiety. I don’t like Mona. Well, you’re a shit person for that. Ladies support ladies.
I do not like this one at all. It just comes across as rape fantasy, and it makes me deeply uncomfortable.
Everyone in these stories is very unlikable. Know people like them, but don’t enjoy it.
I like this one. This one’s funny. Fun concept.
Why are the almost Twitter one-liners better than the rest of the book?
We love depressive executive functioning.
All these stories involve pee. Oh my god, I hate men. We love a manual for disordered eating. Not. This one is definitely bad thoughts.
I like this one too.
Bachie nation. So much peeing.
That’s so mean to the Jonas brothers omg. This couple gives me the ick. I kinda dig this one tho. But like actually, every single one of these has mentioned pee. Please stop. Tragedy isn’t a libido killer though? This one was good.
Good god, that’s an awful way to think. These story characters are all too similar. It’s like a writing exercise about a singular depressed female with a piss fetish and a shopping and true crime addiction. And a nut allergy. This one reminds me of Sirens and Muses. Do people actually call their pharmacists? That’s the third time I’ve heard that about baths, and I almost want to ask what people have against them, but then I also am starting to think they’re not wrong. I almost feel like there’s too much of the author’s own unhappiness with her relationships in these and that I’m intruding. But also like, bestie, if you’re that unhappy with them, change them.
I too have taken a luxury bedding personality quiz. No, no the teens still shop at urban don’t they? I’m not that old. How could you not look? Second story with random pubes. I’ve never seen stray pubes once. Bestie, he’s cheating. All the same variation. It’s not that it’s bad that they’re all essentially about the same person because that’s doable; it’s annoying that it’s this repetitive. It’s the same examples used over and over again to mean the same thing over and over again. If you did it effectively the first time, you wouldn’t need to do it again.
This whole thing just feels like West Coast privileged bullshit, and I am an East Coast privileged bullshitter. I hate this edging cult that has spread amongst men. That ankle thing is the most awkward part of jeans and shenanigans.
All I can think of is Edna Mode with that title. Oh lord, we brought feet into it. And The Sixth Sense again. This isn’t parallels or pleasing callbacks; this is beating a dead horse. Cared enough to violate me. The language/mindset in this book is really harmful at times to survivors.
Oh good, more disordered eating. This is the second time she’s mentioned wanting to fuck a cousin. Calm down, Alabama. She is a nasty person. I want to lance off moles. A campy full-length book about the ghost waiting to be born would be a much better book than this collection. This book is depressing. That ending line is the most hopeful thing in this book.
Are…are there people like that? Might just be you, Alabama. All these stories feel like the scrapped attempts of writing a self-insert book after realizing there isn’t all that much to say. There’s no arc. Just musing. These books are never complete without bashing other women for wearing makeup. Take your inferiority complex and your jealousy elsewhere, ladies. Go to therapy. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with believing in soulmates. Tell me you settled without telling me you settled. Birth control is not gonna help your depression.
Post-reading:
I’m going to struggle to rate this. It’s not that it’s poorly written, but it is violently unlikable. I know it’s a book called Bad Thoughts and it’s examining bad behavior, but the eating disorder, fixation on pee, and outright toxic language regarding rape is so pervasive throughout the book that I think it’s going to upset most people to the point that they cannot enjoy the book either. Looking back I went into this expecting feminist short stories. I would not categorize this as that at all. The best bits of the book are the transitional collections of one-liners. I don’t think it quite deserves one star, but I would never recommend that anyone else read this. I liked the ghost story the most. That one had the best voice. That was the idea that should’ve been plucked out and developed instead of continuing to write a book that didn’t want to be written to produce all these misstarts. Also, Miss Author, if you genuinely feel that way about rape, please go get help.
Who should read this:
Depressed and happily toxic West Coasters
Do I want to reread this:
No
Similar books:
* Sirens and Muses by Antonia Angress-artsy people being depressed and nasty people
* The Seaplane on Final Approach by Rebecca Rukeyser-nasty people just vibing
* My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh-look this is always going to be my recommendation for privileged girl depression
* And That is Why Men Are Terrible by Christopher Mertic Lewis-men being terrible, tired wokeness
* Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney-asshole cast, being artsy and not doing much of anything
My Selling Pitch:
Do you want to read a depressed woman’s musings about her awful behavior with no inclination for change? Would you enjoy reading what feels like the rough drafts of a scrapped novel? Can you tolerate pee mentioned constantly, eating disorders, and a protagonist with a toxic view on rape that will not change or improve?
Pre-reading:
I love feminist short stories, okay? Please don’t disappoint me.
Thick of it:
Immediately in on the eating disorders, okay. I'm tired of reading about girl envy manifesting as self-hate. They did it in the movie The Favor too. It’s like this new version of manic pixie dream girl, only it’s girl on girl without any saphicness. The toxic that girl envy. Oh God, that's terrifying. Men are terrifying. I don’t understand when women fixate on these types of girls. They give me anxiety. I don’t like Mona. Well, you’re a shit person for that. Ladies support ladies.
I do not like this one at all. It just comes across as rape fantasy, and it makes me deeply uncomfortable.
Everyone in these stories is very unlikable. Know people like them, but don’t enjoy it.
I like this one. This one’s funny. Fun concept.
Why are the almost Twitter one-liners better than the rest of the book?
We love depressive executive functioning.
All these stories involve pee. Oh my god, I hate men. We love a manual for disordered eating. Not. This one is definitely bad thoughts.
I like this one too.
Bachie nation. So much peeing.
That’s so mean to the Jonas brothers omg. This couple gives me the ick. I kinda dig this one tho. But like actually, every single one of these has mentioned pee. Please stop. Tragedy isn’t a libido killer though? This one was good.
Good god, that’s an awful way to think. These story characters are all too similar. It’s like a writing exercise about a singular depressed female with a piss fetish and a shopping and true crime addiction. And a nut allergy. This one reminds me of Sirens and Muses. Do people actually call their pharmacists? That’s the third time I’ve heard that about baths, and I almost want to ask what people have against them, but then I also am starting to think they’re not wrong. I almost feel like there’s too much of the author’s own unhappiness with her relationships in these and that I’m intruding. But also like, bestie, if you’re that unhappy with them, change them.
I too have taken a luxury bedding personality quiz. No, no the teens still shop at urban don’t they? I’m not that old. How could you not look? Second story with random pubes. I’ve never seen stray pubes once. Bestie, he’s cheating. All the same variation. It’s not that it’s bad that they’re all essentially about the same person because that’s doable; it’s annoying that it’s this repetitive. It’s the same examples used over and over again to mean the same thing over and over again. If you did it effectively the first time, you wouldn’t need to do it again.
This whole thing just feels like West Coast privileged bullshit, and I am an East Coast privileged bullshitter. I hate this edging cult that has spread amongst men. That ankle thing is the most awkward part of jeans and shenanigans.
All I can think of is Edna Mode with that title. Oh lord, we brought feet into it. And The Sixth Sense again. This isn’t parallels or pleasing callbacks; this is beating a dead horse. Cared enough to violate me. The language/mindset in this book is really harmful at times to survivors.
Oh good, more disordered eating. This is the second time she’s mentioned wanting to fuck a cousin. Calm down, Alabama. She is a nasty person. I want to lance off moles. A campy full-length book about the ghost waiting to be born would be a much better book than this collection. This book is depressing. That ending line is the most hopeful thing in this book.
Are…are there people like that? Might just be you, Alabama. All these stories feel like the scrapped attempts of writing a self-insert book after realizing there isn’t all that much to say. There’s no arc. Just musing. These books are never complete without bashing other women for wearing makeup. Take your inferiority complex and your jealousy elsewhere, ladies. Go to therapy. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with believing in soulmates. Tell me you settled without telling me you settled. Birth control is not gonna help your depression.
Post-reading:
I’m going to struggle to rate this. It’s not that it’s poorly written, but it is violently unlikable. I know it’s a book called Bad Thoughts and it’s examining bad behavior, but the eating disorder, fixation on pee, and outright toxic language regarding rape is so pervasive throughout the book that I think it’s going to upset most people to the point that they cannot enjoy the book either. Looking back I went into this expecting feminist short stories. I would not categorize this as that at all. The best bits of the book are the transitional collections of one-liners. I don’t think it quite deserves one star, but I would never recommend that anyone else read this. I liked the ghost story the most. That one had the best voice. That was the idea that should’ve been plucked out and developed instead of continuing to write a book that didn’t want to be written to produce all these misstarts. Also, Miss Author, if you genuinely feel that way about rape, please go get help.
Who should read this:
Depressed and happily toxic West Coasters
Do I want to reread this:
No
Similar books:
* Sirens and Muses by Antonia Angress-artsy people being depressed and nasty people
* The Seaplane on Final Approach by Rebecca Rukeyser-nasty people just vibing
* My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh-look this is always going to be my recommendation for privileged girl depression
* And That is Why Men Are Terrible by Christopher Mertic Lewis-men being terrible, tired wokeness
* Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney-asshole cast, being artsy and not doing much of anything
Read
September 22, 2022i really really enjoyed (enjoyed? is that the right word?) this collection. best representation i've ever seen of intrusive thoughts in literature. with the caveat that this has sent me spiraling for three days so......beware
January 2, 2023
funny, a little too relatable, and all around so so good
December 19, 2022
I don’t like thinking about LA
October 18, 2022
‘sitting on my bare mattress, i reviewed my social media profiles for no other reason than to remind myself i existed. i liked being contained safely in a grid, a living avatar of a self.
what if *this* is hell?’
what if *this* is hell?’
April 24, 2023
5 stars?? Who is she?! I loved this book so much. Kooky, delusional, relatable, and so so fun. Had me giggling out loud. This is my first short story collection and I am now on a journey to find more. Best book club book yet!
October 23, 2022
This debut short story collection is my favorite kind of funny. Not ha-ha funny, not dad-joke funny, not even SNL-funny. It's dark funny, sardonic funny, holy-shit-she-nailed-it funny. Picture four out of five people scratching their heads, and the fifth one (me) unabashedly snort-laughing as I underline. It's completely disturbing and utterly delightful. The kind of book I'll recommend to my younger sister, not my mom.
My one critique: while the premise of each story is thrillingly unique, the actual narratives seemed to blur together. Our fourteen protagonists face a wide range of absurdist circumstances - for example, 'Earth to Lydia' centers on an all-too-plausible support group that helps people struggling with capitalism to embrace greed and materialism, and in 'Ghost Baby', our cynical narrator is "the spirit of a proto-child assigned to a couple whose chemistry is waning," writhing in disembodied frustration as its parents fail to conceive it. As much as I love Alic's voice, I wish it had been more distinct from story to story - after the fact, specific sentences and moments are sharp in my mind, but it's hard to remember where they came from.
That said, I will EAGERLY pick up anything Alic writes from now on. This irreverent, biting, and unexpectedly vulnerable collection is reminiscent of Gabriela Wiener's Nine Moons, another favorite among the 200+ books I've read so far this year.
Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
My one critique: while the premise of each story is thrillingly unique, the actual narratives seemed to blur together. Our fourteen protagonists face a wide range of absurdist circumstances - for example, 'Earth to Lydia' centers on an all-too-plausible support group that helps people struggling with capitalism to embrace greed and materialism, and in 'Ghost Baby', our cynical narrator is "the spirit of a proto-child assigned to a couple whose chemistry is waning," writhing in disembodied frustration as its parents fail to conceive it. As much as I love Alic's voice, I wish it had been more distinct from story to story - after the fact, specific sentences and moments are sharp in my mind, but it's hard to remember where they came from.
That said, I will EAGERLY pick up anything Alic writes from now on. This irreverent, biting, and unexpectedly vulnerable collection is reminiscent of Gabriela Wiener's Nine Moons, another favorite among the 200+ books I've read so far this year.
Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 19, 2022
I thought I was in a mooood for this book because I feel like i’m going through a mid-life crisis and thought this book would be relatable. Basically it’s a collection of fictional short stories about women who bare their bad thoughts for the reader to witness. There were a few short stories that were interesting and fun to read but mostly they were a jumble of thoughts. It was too much of a stream of consciousness for me to follow along so I did not finish.
August 10, 2023
Nada Alic reminds us that we are all snowflakes: beautiful, crystalline, unique, and fucked up in ways that twist us into throbbing knots.
I am only halfway through these stories, but I’m parceling them out as rewards for reading edifying books, books wherein characters learn and grow and improve themselves. If those books are kintsugi then “Bad Thoughts” is a box of broken plates and bowls, the shards grinding and rattling against each other.
I am only halfway through these stories, but I’m parceling them out as rewards for reading edifying books, books wherein characters learn and grow and improve themselves. If those books are kintsugi then “Bad Thoughts” is a box of broken plates and bowls, the shards grinding and rattling against each other.
September 8, 2022
i rly liked this! i liked the tone of the overall stories. there were some lines that were really punchy and the writing has a sharpness i really liked. it didn’t blow me away but i definitely enjoyed it. it definitely fits the bill of a contemporary work and i’m here for it.
December 24, 2023
insecure and forgettable
October 23, 2022
This debut short story collection is my favorite kind of funny. Not ha-ha funny, not dad-joke funny, not even SNL-funny. It's dark funny, sardonic funny, holy-shit-she-nailed-it funny. Picture four out of five people scratching their heads, and the fifth one (me) unabashedly snort-laughing as I underline. It's completely disturbing and utterly delightful. The kind of book I'll recommend to my younger sister, not my mom.
My one critique: while the premise of each story is thrillingly unique, the actual narratives blurred together. Our fourteen protagonists face a wide range of absurdist circumstances - for example, 'Earth to Lydia' centers on an all-too-plausible support group that helps people struggling with capitalism to embrace greed and materialism, and in 'Ghost Baby', our cynical narrator is "the spirit of a proto-child assigned to a couple whose chemistry is waning," writhing in disembodied frustration as its parents fail to conceive it. As much as I love Alic's voice, I wish it had been more distinct from story to story - after the fact, specific sentences and moments are sharp in my mind, but it's hard to remember where they came from.
That said, I will EAGERLY pick up anything Alic writes from now. This irreverent, biting, and unexpectedly vulnerable collection is reminiscent of Gabriela Wiener's Nine Moons, another favorite among the 200+ books I've read so far this year.
My one critique: while the premise of each story is thrillingly unique, the actual narratives blurred together. Our fourteen protagonists face a wide range of absurdist circumstances - for example, 'Earth to Lydia' centers on an all-too-plausible support group that helps people struggling with capitalism to embrace greed and materialism, and in 'Ghost Baby', our cynical narrator is "the spirit of a proto-child assigned to a couple whose chemistry is waning," writhing in disembodied frustration as its parents fail to conceive it. As much as I love Alic's voice, I wish it had been more distinct from story to story - after the fact, specific sentences and moments are sharp in my mind, but it's hard to remember where they came from.
That said, I will EAGERLY pick up anything Alic writes from now. This irreverent, biting, and unexpectedly vulnerable collection is reminiscent of Gabriela Wiener's Nine Moons, another favorite among the 200+ books I've read so far this year.
January 30, 2023
You are sitting in the waiting room, at the dentist’s office. You have arrived 15 minutes early to your scheduled appointment, and the waiting area is filled with all sorts of people. You set your gaze on one person, trying to figure out their life story. You imagine deep and dark thoughts about this individual’s life. The best part is, it’s all in your head. That’s what reading the stories in this debut story collection felt like. Each story is well-crafted, original, and humorous (the dark kind). All deal with the every day, ordinary situations us women face. I loved these stories and highly recommend them.
November 5, 2022
Most of the collection was great and hilarious. I loved the irony and wry commentary for Ghost Baby, Giving Up, Edging, and The Party. I also thought Daddy's Girl was very funny and true. The rest of the collection wasn't as memorable except for Tug, Spin, Release. These stories have more resonance than a lot of what passes for stories these days.
April 24, 2024
Funnnn yes I liked this a lot.
The thoughts could have been more bad? Maybe ? For me personally - but resonated with almost every story, can fall straight into the words and become engrossed easily. Super distinct style, so witty & cleverly written, really creative plots. One of the best short stories I’ve read for a while ! Trés bien
The thoughts could have been more bad? Maybe ? For me personally - but resonated with almost every story, can fall straight into the words and become engrossed easily. Super distinct style, so witty & cleverly written, really creative plots. One of the best short stories I’ve read for a while ! Trés bien
August 26, 2023
Maintaining smallness and mediocrity was a form of self-preservation. Disappearing altogether was self-care.
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"What are your symptoms?"
"I feel dizzy, a little light-headed, and speedy. I'm supposed to feel euphoric, but instead I'm agitated, like maybe I should have a baby and stop judging everyone."
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"What are your symptoms?"
"I feel dizzy, a little light-headed, and speedy. I'm supposed to feel euphoric, but instead I'm agitated, like maybe I should have a baby and stop judging everyone."
May 29, 2024
I actually laughed out loud at times - especially the story from the perspective of a potential baby. It's raw, weird, and unapologetic.
I liked the narrator's monotone voice on the audiobook for some stories because it made the delivery even more funny. But I wished they'd made an effort to mix up the tone on others. Also, they could've added chapter numbers so it was clear when stories were changing on audiobook.
I liked the narrator's monotone voice on the audiobook for some stories because it made the delivery even more funny. But I wished they'd made an effort to mix up the tone on others. Also, they could've added chapter numbers so it was clear when stories were changing on audiobook.
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March 29, 2023very good
November 22, 2023
im not entirely sure why there are so many people saying these stories werent great. they were a good pace and all the stories were interesting!! this author has such a good voice!
January 8, 2024
3.5 stars
Funny short story collection
“My grocery store self and my 1 a.m refrigerator self do not share the same goals and dreams”
Funny short story collection
“My grocery store self and my 1 a.m refrigerator self do not share the same goals and dreams”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews