Great Essays & Short Stories: Sure, Why Not?
Because some people like this kind of thing. #41
Essays and short stories. I understand some people like this sort of thing.
Reader, I am not one of those people.
OK, that’s not completely accurate, and not just because this would be a reallll short newsletter if it were: “Nothing to recommend! Have a great week!” However, it is true that these are genres that I generally have to psych myself up to read. While I know some people love them, I personally find that essays often can feel quite ponderous and even pretentious in its word-weightiness. It’s how I feel about most poetry too (YES I SAID IT. Go on and kick me out of the cool kids’ reading club.) And relatedly, short stories can be the worst of both worlds for me: long enough that I have to really focus but short enough that, if I love it, I’m just kept wanting more in a dissatisfied way. Just write a novel, you coward!
But all of this to say, while I’m not an avid reader of these genres - like every kind of book, there have been some that I’ve really loved, remembered, and would recommend for their sharp writing, their trenchant perspective that moves me to consider the world in a new way, or just a terrific reading experience. I will acknowledge that most, though not all, of this week’s recommendations share a similar stylistic through line of insight through humor, which will win me over every time. (Or as American Treasure Dolly “Moderna” Parton said in Steel Magnolias, “laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”) So it’s not an exhaustive compilation by any means.
But if you’re like me and don’t normally check out essays & short stories, maybe give some of these a whirl! And if you’re an essay enthusiast, drop a comment and let us know what great works we’ve been missing!
In Shrill, writer Lindy West writes about being a fat, feminist, straight-talking woman in a world that punishes all of those things. If that makes you think, “oh, this isn’t for me” then I gently suggest - it’s exactly for you. But fear not, she’s so funny and fearless that you’ll laugh through it before you realize what a scorching eye she turns to misogyny, body shaming and well-meaning allies. Of special note: her essay on the Internet troll who masquerades as her deceased father, which is a profound take on online culture.
This is what I think Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist must be like, or Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror, but I haven’t read either of those because I am also a bad feminist I guess.
If you missed Olive Kitteridge a few years back, do yourself a favor and go back to this collection of short stories set in a small Maine town. They’re all loosely linked through the character of Olive Kitteridge, a large, unsparing, bluntly spoken retired schoolteacher. Sometimes she’s the center of the story, sometimes she shows up in the background, sometimes she’s a hero of a sort, but throughout it’s a lovely, often sadly sweet, very empathetic and poignantly insightful view of humanity. Plus Olive is the most appealing curmudgeon.
You can’t go wrong with anything Samantha Irby writes, so check out We Are Never Meeting in Real Life or Wow, No Thank You or or any of her other essay collections about life as an awkward, sometimes depressed, IBS-struggling, bisexual Black blogger making ends meet by working in a veterinary clinic (and then later on as a writer of some renown.) It takes tremendous skill to write essays that are equally vulnerable and upbeat, deeply honest and touching but also raunchy and cringingly hilarious. I literally laughed out loud so many times reading these essays. A singular voice!
OK, I know what you’re thinking - B.J. Novak, the actor from The Office? I picked up One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories expecting, oh, some comedic personal essays about life in Hollywood and was honestly blown away by how elevated, quirky, and deeply intelligent these short stories are. And yes, extremely funny, but less in the style of modern “funny essays on the internet” (which I love) (obviously) and more in the classic style of David Sedaris or Steve Martin with their perceptive eye and satirist’s gift of absurdity and empathy. Really, they’re remarkable. Also, I bet this would be a GREAT audio book (actually, they probably all would!)
As always, all links go to Bookshop.org which supports Jeff Bezos and the Koch brothers. Just kidding, wanted to make sure you were reading this far! Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores and you can even designate your favorite to support.
You can see all past recommendations at my Bookshop.org page or in the newsletter archive.