The Secret Lives of Men

by Georgia Blain

In these haunting stories, Georgia Blain explores human nature in all its richness: our motivations, our desires and our shortcomings. The men in these tales frequently linger at the edges — their longings and failures exerting a subterranean pull on the women in their lives. In ‘The Secret Lives of Men’, a woman revisits her hometown and learns a long-held secret about her first boyfriend. In ‘The Bad Dog Park’, a man’s devotion to his pet ultimately forces him to confront his true hopes and fears. And in ‘The Other Side of the River’, a snap decision has devastating consequences for a mother and her family. Written in Blain’s trademark unadorned yet powerful prose, these stories resonate long after they are finished.

The Secret Lives of Men is an exceptional collection by one of Australia’s leading writers.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Georgia Blain has published novels for adults and young adults, essays, short stories, and a memoir. Her first novel was the bestselling Closed for Winter, which was made into a feature film. She was shortlisted for numerous awards including the NSW and SA Premiers' Literary Awards, and the Nita B. Kibble Award for her memoir Births Deaths Marriages. Georgia's works include The Secret Lives of Men, Too Close to Home, and the YA novel Darkwater. In 2016, in addition to Between a Wolf and a Dog, Georgia also published the YA novel Special. She lived in Sydney, where she worked full-time as a writer.

Reviews

[Kate Aston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh I love Blain’s beautifully simple prose. Her writing always makes me feel nostalgic about home and childhood, even an imagined nostalgia for experiences that weren’t mine. Thanks Sigourney for this birthday gift xxxx

[Frederick Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thirteen stories, about love, hope, regret, fear, and all orbiting around introspection. We encounter dog-walkers, tourists in India, inspirational speakers, cancer patients and many other ordinary people. The author’s intent is exploring exactly what it is that makes these people tick, and what circumstances could break them.

I don’t think it’s entirely fair of me of to review this book. I’m far from its ideal reader, being more enthusiastic about Plastic Man and selkies than exploring human nature. (Still, at least I’d be more relevant than this guy.) I’m human. I’ve been dealing with other humans all my life. If there’s a book that’s going to show more anything about humanity that I don’t already know, it’s certainly not going to be fiction.

Still, I like Blain’s prose style. And her characters seem like people I could actually meet, and while that disengages me, it shows that she’s a better writer than I am. While her stories don’t give you the entire picture of her character’s lives, they tell you enough.

I’ve found such introspection to be a real theme in Australian literary fiction. Profundity seems to come in the form of middle-class people thinking about how dull and miserable their lives are. I don’t really go for that sort of thing, myself. I prefer comic action with a pinch of surrealism.

Blain is at her best when she captures a realistic situation that her audience would be unfamiliar with, yet recognise as plausible. ”Enlarged + Heart + Patient” is about a girl with a chronic condition and her parents dealing with hospital life, and how they tolerate the entertainers and AFL players who come to cheer them up. It resonated with me, having heard similar tales from relatives. ”Big Dreams” is about a woman’s hesitant attraction to an inspirational speaker, the chief tension being how sincere he is. I enjoyed this one because I honestly have no idea what goes on inside the mind of an inspirational speaker, and I’m glad that Blain tried to guess. Blain could’ve teased this concept out into a longer piece, or even a screenplay.

Since, I’ve carried on about not being the ideal reader of the Secret Lives Of Men, I may as well say I why tried it. I acquired the book, amongst many others, as a prize for winning second place at a short story competition two years ago. It was in a bundle from the publisher Scribe, who i should thank for encouraging such competitions. The reason I read it recently was my thesis, on masculinity. Judging by the title, I figured it would have some insights about the matter. And it did.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to me or someone with my tastes. I’d recommend this for fans of Australian literary fiction, ABC dramas, and those who are morbidly fascinated by inspirational speakers.

[Felicity Waterford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Georgia Blain writes characters well, so I can imagine knowing them in my life... but in spite of her gift, the stories didn’t hit the mark for me. A few stories I found a little difficult to follow from past to present day and back to the last.... and the endings not always what I might want... so the rating 7.5/10 really is attributed to her amazing ability to capture the human condition and is worth reading just for that.

[Chris Waterford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories that were engaging but for me, did not quite hit the mark. I've been spoiled by "Births, Deaths and Marriages" and had very high expectations.

[Wendy Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book of short stories, a very easy read. Well written, true to the context of Australia. I get the sense the the author had insight into more negative than positive relationships, and men certainly came off second best! On saying that, I am pretty sure there is at least one situation in this book that we could relate too.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

They were all intriguing, especially the first few, but after those first few they seemed to get a bit repetitive. Even if the stories seemed quite different on the surface, the same things happened in all of them.
(Minor spoilers)
Affairs, broken marriages, one night stands, “it was xxx who told me he died, x years later…”.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across The Secret Lives of Men whilst browsing in my local library recently, simply looking for an interesting paperback as opposed to the multitude of hard back novels, which are a little cumbersome to lug back and forth on the train to and from work (yes, it could be time to consider an eReader, but I am drawn to the allure of printed texts!). I have to say I was quite impressed with my random choice as this book turned out to be a terrific read and also provided great inspiration on how to write a short story well, given my current study requires me to craft my own.
The Secret Lives of Men is only the second collection of short stories I’ve read, the first being Runaway by Alice Munro, and I admittedly preferred this selection of thirteen tales by Georgia Blain, an accomplished Australian author. Many of the stories are set in Australia and contain distinctly Australian elements which serve to add to their character, whilst not being a hindrance to any non-Australian readers.
Blain provides delightful insight and depth to her characters within the short spans of her narrative, along with delivering sophistication to simple themes and actions. Most, but not all, of the stories in this compilation are told from the perspective of a woman whose life is touched or shaped, for better or worse by a man. With the exception of a few, the men appear less dominant in the storylines although they play a significant role.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found that I was keen to continue reading each tale. A great choice if your reading time is lacking and want to have the benefit of being able to read an entire story in one sitting, or just to be able to immerse yourself in a gratifying overall read.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this set of short stories, Blain writes in a clear, thoughtful style and gives the reader many moments of insight and recognition. She writes about mothers and children and today's changing family structures. Despite the title, the men in her stories are more frequently seen through the eyes of a wife, a lover or a daughter than as the main protagonist. Her tone is one of reluctant acceptance of the pitfalls and limitations of relationships.

I thought the first half of the stories in this collection were very good, with unusual or moving themes. However, I thought the stories in the second half became rather pedestrian and I doubt that I will remember many of them. Or perhaps Blain had said everything I was interested in reading before moving on to something more substantial.

The cover is very unusual - a woman with wind-blown hair, with drifting clouds superimposed on her image. Any thoughts about the symbolism of this cover?

[NormaCenva · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice compilation of stories. All different and all the same in a way that all of them together or/and separately mirror the complexities and the struggles of men and women all around us. Will be coming back to this book, hoping to find something new, and revealed, in the pages, I already traveled through.

[John Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of short stories. Ms Blain was an extraordinary writer and is missed immensely. My favourites were the title story, The Bad Dog Oark and Her Boredom Trick, but narrowly from an extraordinary collection. Highly recommended.

[Susanna Freymark · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite story was the last one Flyover.

[Deborah Sheldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. 'The Secret Lives of Men' is a well-written collection of quiet, thoughtful stories featuring quiet, thoughtful characters.

[Gisela]

3 Jan 2018
* Read the first (and eponymous) story – loved it. Elegant in its simplicity and still poignant it its understatement. Great structure.

* One

* Two

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat disappointing collection of short stories

[Gracie T.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first of Georgia Blain's. Overall liked her style of writing and some stories were captivating but some had me wanting more.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing. Sad, moving, life-affirming stories. So sad Georgia lost her life so young. A talent gone too soon.

[Garry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of short, mostly grim stories. It was easy to read. I liked it.

[Seren Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

[Nathalie Bilinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flawless prose. Each short story was just perfect. I can't fault a single one.

[Ruby Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yessssss I love love love Blain!!!! Will read all her work

[Carol Hu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a while ago so the review was added later on. The whole book was pleasant to read but the one story that stuck to me was about the women and events surrounding the beach house. I vividly remembered how much I cried, that the most precious thing for her was the one thing she had and now lost, yet only realized too late. Happiness, how do you measure such a thing? It was a beautiful but sad story, showed a lot of imperfections but also what made us human.

[KylieAtkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was one of a few books lent to me from a friend. I also read it to fulfil a Book Challenge criteria (a book of short stories). Although I liked the writers style, I didn't particularly like the stories. I felt I was only getting a glimpse of something really good and all too often I was left hanging with a lot of unanswered questions. Some people may like this approach - making you think, letting you decide the ending - but I want more, I want the full story. I felt like I was reading just the first chapter of a great story and then just.... I would love to read a full novel by the author as she had characters that were well developed and I wanted to know more about.

[Rob Manwaring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final book of the holiday season. I liked this a lot, and was gripped more than I thought I would be. What helps is that tonally, many of the short stories are told in the same clear, easy, Australian sort of style. So whilst there was a variety of themes and characters across the stories, they all seemed to inhabit the same universe - it meant that when you finished one story, the rhythm of the collection help up. The story of the dog walker is the stand out....

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great writer. I think the last story, Flyover, was my favourite but they are all wonderful.