Welcome to Litsy!

A wonderful collection of short stories, some varying in quality but all with a lot to offer. Not a typical “love story” situation but so is to be expected with Eugenides.

Favorites— Dirty Wedding by Denis Johnson, Natasha by David Bezmozgis, Spring in Fialta by Vladimir Nobokov, and How to be an Other Woman by Lorrie Moore.

Easy leash favorite— The Hitchhiking Game by Milan Kundera (incredibly rapey and male gazey in a non-self aware way)

Barbara gave me this short story anthology for Christmas, and I‘m reading four a month. Here are my thoughts on the first four.

The Brodkey was boring (and long), so not the best start, but I loved the Chekhov! There was a pleasant vitality to it. I did not understand the Paley. Maybe it was timing or maybe it is just over my head. I read the Faulkner in school, but I have much more appreciation for the story of a sad old single person at 42. 😂

#Aprella Day 22: This collection of love stories from Chekhov to Munro lovingly curated by Jeffrey Eugenides undoubtedly contain a number of narratives with #ExCalling as this book is supposedly created as a “cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery.”

Thank you so much for sending me this book, @ValerieAndBooks ! It looks as good as you promised, with ‘great love stories‘ by some of my favourite authors: Faulkner, July, Kundera, Moore, Munro, Nabokov, Saunders, Trevor and of course Mr Eugenides himself! Wow 💜I think I‘ll start it right away, read in small portions!

I promised I‘d do a #payitforward giveaway in honor of hitting 60,000 Litfluence!

Fantastic collection curated by Jeffrey Eugenides with authors ranging from Chekhov, Nabokov, Raymond Carver, Munro. Complicated love, not Happily ever after stories. I ❤️ this collection! Extras may be included 😉

Open internationally. To enter: make a post showing your favorite short story collection, tag me, and use #valsgiveaway

Deadline: Sunday Jan. 28

I'm excited to start this collection of "great love stories, from Chekhov to Munro" but I'm going to *try to slow down and take my time finishing it, reading only one story every couple days instead of wolfing it down in one sitting. Unlike these innocent cookies, which are already gone, ten minutes later ???

I finished my Queen of the Tearling reread and so that means it's time for a short story. This is number 2 in this collection. #keepingitshort #somanyreadingchallenges

@TheNextBook informed me she was #keepingitshort by reading a short story after every book and I love the idea so much, I'm doing it too! I'm starting with this one, which has been on my shelf about five years.

#recommendsday : This love story collection, edited by Eugenides, is fantastic. Not sappy happily-ever-after stories, because real love stories can be messy and complicated. Authors range from Chekhov to Raymond Carver to Alice Munro. Plus there's the creepily classic "A Rose for Emily" by Faulkner.