Lust: & Other Stories

by Susan Minot

 


Twelve stories of women caught in the emotional turbulence of romance in Manhattan
 

For the twelve narrators of Susan Minot’s breathtaking collection—artists and lawyers, teenagers and thirty-somethings—love in New York doesn’t come easy. And as they struggle to reconcile their yearnings for romance with their needs for independence, they face resistance to emotional commitment at every turn. 
 
In intense snapshots of these women’s most intimate moments, Minot brings to life their dreams and disappointments, hopes and heartbreaks, and highlights the emotional fissures that divide women and men.
 
This ebook features a new illustrated biography of Susan Minot, including artwork by the author and rare documents and photos from her personal collection. 

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Romance, Erotica, Contemporary, Literature, Love

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Susan Minot is an award-winning novelist and short story writer whose books include Monkeys, Folly, Lust & Other Stories, and Evening, which was adapted into the feature film of the same name starring Meryl Streep. Minot was born in Boston and raised in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, attended Brown University, and received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. She currently lives with her daughter in both New York City and an island off the coast of Maine.

Reviews

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost 20 years ago, when I was an impressionable 20 something, I remember bringing this book up to a friend who is a highly regarded writer and critic. When I said I intended to read it, this person scoffed and laughed at me and told me what a terrible and cliched writer Susan Minot was. "Lust?! That's such a terrible book, why would you read that?!”

Almost 20 years later after that snooty conversation the story "Lust" popped up in several high school curriculums where it made connections to themes about gender, feminism, power and privilege. I read the story "Lust" and was blown away.

It was startling to read a fearless, clinical and spare short story about a female narrator attempting to make sense of the power of her sexuality, and of her ambivalence towards men who range from passive aggressive, to having full blown bouts of toxic masculinity.

“City Night" and "A Thrilling Life" are tragicomic stories that are about women who find themselves falling for men who are abusive and self centered.

There are hints of rape culture that becomes accepted because characters resign themselves as unworthy, or unable to communicate what they want. "A Thrilling Life" is particularly heartbreaking because the protagonist who considers herself a perennial bachelorette falls for the wrong man. Is she truly happy in the end because she remains single, and dumped? Or does she resign herself?

The air of ambiguity permeates the stories of "Lust" which ultimately are all thought provoking stories about gender differences.

I circle back 20 years ago and thought of my friend’s feelings on this book. Sure they have the right to not like anything- but I think there might have been some negative projection and misogyny at play at why they didn’t like this book.

Reading this collection reminded me of Raymond Carver's work. Spare, brutal, with an ear for dialogue, it seems to me Susan Minot's a spiritual granddaughter's of Hemingway's and Flannery O'Connor; and a true peer and female counterpart of Andre Dubus and Richard Yates.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh goodness. Oh my. These stories were, they were, just, gutting. I started these stories at an airport terminal. I read them in the back of a cab. I finished them in a hotel room. And I felt empty and broken and faraway.

Each story ripped a hole in my soul just a little bit with the dull aching beautiful loneliness of Minot's words. Her style punches you in the chest. These (girl) characters are silly and searching and losing.

The body. The heart. The ache. Wonderful stories.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I guess Minot is kind of like Midge to Gaitskill's Barbie?

Or something...?

I wanted to like this book because Robert recommended it. While I always hope to like the things my friends and Booksters tell me to read, I suspect I was especially invested in dear Robert's tastes because he's probably the most encouraging reader I've ever (virtually) known, and that includes my mom.

Unfortunately I tried, and I didn't like it! Well, the first story, as many other Booksters here have noted, is very good, and earns a star. And the second story had a few things going for it too, actually, now that I think of it. And the very last story was quite fine. But then there was THE REST OF IT.... To me it read like a series of monologues about the guys these chicks have been sleeping with. That is boring! I already have to listen to my friends do that in my daily life! Plus she kept calling men "fellows" like that's normal and I found it distracting. More importantly, I was bored and just couldn't relate, maybe because I don't go to these sorts of parties or get myself in these sorts of relationships with these sorts of guys -- but that shouldn't matter! I mean seriously, I just wasn't interested in the situations or the people.... especially not the people.

Maybe I would've been more okay with this book if I'd just read a story at a time, over an extended period, instead of all just at once. As it was pretty early on I wanted to grab all these women violently by their shoulders and shake them hard and scream: "MAYBE IF YOU HAD MORE TO THINK ABOUT THAN YOUR CRAPPY LAME BOYFRIENDS THIS WOULD BE A WHOLE LOT BETTER FOR BOTH OF US!"

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what I expected when I started reading this book, but it wasn't for little pieces of my soul to be eaten away as I finished each story. Such a promising title: Lust. But this is not a book of happy frolicking lust... it's more like the soul-crushing lust of unfulfilled affairs, dead-end romances, and inexperienced fumblings mixed with peer- and self-pressure.

Gripping nonetheless, but soul-hardening.

[Heather Denkmire · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were all well done, good reads (as it were). I felt envious reading it, knowing it's something I'd enjoy writing. The only reason I'm not tagging it as "really liked it" was that it made me sad, but not in a way that makes me focus on the power of the book. The overall point of view was about "needy" women and "distant" men. That was pretty much the theme. It was a quick read, and, again, very well written and assembled.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Lust and Other Stories”, by Susan Minot, was published by Houghton Mifflin and S Lawrence in 1989. The 147 pages contain 12 short restless stories about women who cannot find their emotional equivalent in a man. Minot explores the overbearing need for a woman to have constant reminders of love and attention, and what a women will do to achieve these notions.
The book rightfully begins with the short and quite crude story, “Lust”. A young girl, possibly in her early or mid-teens comments on her various sexual partners – with every partner, she describes the way he made her feel. At first, Minot allows the girl to seem nonchalant about her experiences. Later, however, we find the girl to be torn apart by her misgivings. She reflects on her sexual experiences: “After the briskness of loving, loving stops.” The girl, like her sexual partners begins to feel nothing toward an act she once thought of to be sacred and special. Another interesting thing in the story “Lust” is that the girl remains unnamed, whereas her sexual partners all have specific names with a specific memory attached to them. All of her partners have a name and have a meaning – she does not. Namelessness appears frequently throughout the book – Minot calls several of her characters “the woman” or “the man”. To that effect, she gives them significance, or lack thereof, in her story based on the very essence of who they are – a name.
As the book goes on, the stories of the women become more and more disconnected. They are all closely related to one another, and all relationships end with questions. A fine example of this is the story “The Break-Up”. Not only does the relationship start to dwindle because of a simple question “What do you think he meant by that?”, but the story also ends on that note. It pushes the notion that this is it; there is no war, battle, or fight – just a simple beginning of questioning. Also in the story “The Break-Up is the concept of impermanence. Minot states that Owen (the main character’s boyfriend) has lived in his place for a year but still has not “gotten around” to buying an actual trash can. The man cannot even decide what kind of trash can he wants to keep for an extended period of time – how can he know if he wants to keep his long term girlfriend of eight months around? It seems impossible.
“The Break-Up” also introduces a new concept to Minot’s book of short stories: that of a man having feelings. When Tim’s girlfriend ends their relationship, he cries out “You just can’t do this to people…”. This reverses the role of man and woman in Minot’s stories. However, in the next story, the notion of men having feelings is lost again. “The Swan in the Garden” continually refers to what a women wants to see the relationship as – a perfect symbol for this is the actual swan she sees in the garden. The swan is beautiful and daring, elegant and perfect – but then the creature opens its mouth and hisses this horrible menacing sound. The woman becomes afraid and no longer wants to be near the swan – a perfect metaphor for her relationship.
Minot’s book paints the story of how a woman feels in a broken relationship – or how sex without emotions feels to her. A fresh take on this situation (one without a whining undertone) certainly makes this book a five star must read.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read these in one sitting which is unusual for me when it comes to short stories. I have a weakness for single girl in the city stories that take place/were written before the Sex and the City era. The ones in this collection revolve around power imbalance in hetero dating and sex. The writing is very spare, but manages to set vivid scenes. I could feel the air as they walked along the river, feel the energy shift in the room at the dinner party.

[Shayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling Collection

Lust and Other Stories by Susan Minot. Vintage Books, New York, 2000.

The first time I read Minot’s work was the opening story, “Lust,” which stood alone in a textbook of other short pieces of literature. Her ability to tap into the lonely side of lust immediately drew me into the narrative; and I was interested in reading more when I realized it was a part of a collection of stories. There is such truthfulness and humanity in her writing that I have to remind myself that her stories are not memoirs. It’s a fresh change to read about romances that are realistic and not with the happy endings that literature often provides. So, as a book that questions the reality of relationships, I wouldn’t suggest it as a fluffy pick-me-up, but it’s done in such a beautiful, lyrical way that it’s near impossible to stop reading. It’s a quick and easy read made up of a surprisingly cohesive collection of stories about lusting and losing.

Often I think we underestimate the power of a short story – the ability to convey a larger message in only a few pages. Each story, which is separated into three main sections, all convey a particular theme. It’s not just a random collection of stories but instead glimpses of moments in relationships when they form and ultimately break apart. The first section demonstrates the initial lust and the “high” people in relationships feel in the beginning. and the false reality they seem to be living in. The second section focuses on the discovery of these hollow truths, and the third section contains more of the misconceptions in longer relationships. However, each story has particular features and writing techniques that set it apart from the others, such as point of view, characters and structure. Truthfully, you might question these women’s decisions, but Minot writes in a way that accurately depicts how emotions and human nature work in these situations.

Minot throws you right into the scene with her conversational tone and witty sentences. One of the first sentences in “Sparks” starts with, “Okay, so I met this guy the other night.” And you can just hear a friend telling you this story. That story and a few others use the first person point of view, which I think are some of the better stories just because of the realistic and painfully honest tone. “The Feather in the Toque” takes on a third person point of view and only refers to the characters as “the man” and “the woman.” It works so well for a short story about a man who views women as notches on his belt. You create the faces for these nameless characters, finding a way to relate. I think the lack of physical descriptions, which some people might criticize, are not something these stories are missing. The dialogue and inner thoughts of the characters paint a more vivid picture of who these people are and what their motivations are than the color of their hair or the shape of the body could ever reveal.

Besides her unique approach at storytelling, I think what drew me to Minot was the similarities I saw in my own style of writing. I often take on a casual and cynical tone, and these stories capture that perfectly. As an aspiring writer, I admire the way she can write with constant cohesion and confidence. Her words seem to flow together effortlessly, and the pacing of the narrative never slows at any moment. She has the ability to cut out flowery language and get right to the heart of things like, “Feet stomped gently, breath rose in the spotlight.” She chooses her words and the scenes to focus on with careful precision. She also has an amazing ear for natural dialogue, especially those awkward moments as in “The Knot” when Peter stutters, “Just a—I don’t know—little…” Every piece of dialogue, image and character adds something to the overall message; and I’ve added Minot to my list of inspirational writers because of these techniques in her writing that are so close to what I hope to achieve one day.

[kisara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chic women in NYC with boy problems … it was ok I guess

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[Bridget Bonaparte · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! Supremely stylish, crisp matter of fact sentences march one after another. When sentences stretch out and lengthen it signals a shift in the narrators state of being. Most stories written in free indirect discourse with a couple a first person singular. “Lust” is maybe too salacious of a title as these stories are not sexy per say, though they are intimate. Their central concern is broadly how a woman positions herself in relation to romantic partners, strategically withholding or giving more or less of herself. Calculated reactions are at odds with genuine feeling and are often deployed as means to handle and control attention, wanted and unwanted.

[Adrian Stumpp · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took forever to find a copy of this. I searched far and wide for quite a long time before finally finding it on ebay. It was an epic quest, and like most epic quests, the fulfilment turned out to be rather disappointing. The title story is brilliant, one of the best stories written in the second half of the twentieth century in my opinion, and the most visceral and effective version of "I was a teenaged slut" I've ever read. I suppose this story in itself justifies the purchase, but having read the rest of the collection, I can see why the book was so hard to find. Nine-tenths of the volume prove thoroughly unremarkable. The language is dead-pan and uninteresting, although Minot does show an occasional sensitivity for the "perfect" or "telling" detail. The characters are one-dimensional and interchangeable young single professional women with boy troubles and not much else going on in their lives. This is one of those books that receive high praise on the back of the jacket for its "lyrical voice," the reader should prepare him or herself for something "lyrically beautiful." I feel a rant coming on. When the best thing the critics can say about a book is that it is lyrical, that means it's probably not worth your money and most definitely not worth your time. This is the literary equivalent of the apparently "visually stunning" movie. Of course a movie is visually stunning. That's what it does. It's a visual thing. All movies, to one degree or another, are visually stunning. The only reason to point out its visual stunningness is if the movie has nothing else to offer except that which is self-evident to its medium. A movie is a story made out of pictures. If it isn't visually stunning, it isn't anything. Whenever I hear a movie is "visually stunning" I translate that to mean "This movie is a terrible waste of time. So much so that there is nothing better to say about it except to point out something that pertains to all movies." To say a book is "lyrical" is the same thing. If there is nothing good to say about a book, critics tends to point out something pertaining to language itself. A book is a story made of words. It should have some "lyric" quality inherent to it just because it is constructed out of language. To turn this into high praise is to admit there is nothing remotely interesting about it beyond the fact that it is, at least, a book. The title story is excellent. "The Man Who Would Not Go Away" is also decent.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very New York City, very 1980's, and stylistically seems quite dated now. Most of these stories are about women who are entering into, meandering within, or exiting relationships. Seventy-five percent of the book is inane dialog; attempts to portray the banality of dating. The final paragraphs usually sum up the banality in a attempt to validate the rest of the story. For the most part the strategy was boring, although I can appreciate the intent behind them. The title story "Lust," which leads off the book, is the only one that I've returned to to reread a few times. What impresses me about the story is how the constant shifting POV--from first to third to second and around again randomly, all by the same narrator, doesn't matter. Regardless the POV, it feels unified. A rare feat. Just wish the story didn't end with a stereotypical viewpoint about promiscuity; the too common sentiment at the end deflated what the rest of the story achieved.

[Cathy Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Minot's prose is a dream, and reminiscent of Miranda July's. The stories paint bleak pictures of the lives of women and the men who make them suffer, but the prose is so good that it almost doesn't matter.
I say almost - because the protagonists (with the exception of the one in the title story) are so lacklustre that one can't really blame the men who fail to commit to them or leave them. Imagine the feisty Fay Weldon novels of the 80s and 90s, and the terrible situations therein in which women find themselves - and that they just suffered. They did nothing; they just suffered, and we watched them feeling it. The London Review of Books said that Minot's 'women could hardly be more classical' and yes, there's that ancient, "We're doomed, oh poor us, and we're so middle-class and sensitive".
But the prose saves it, and is so good that frankly she could write about a collection of old telephone directories and it would probably still be interesting. Just not excellent.

[Jack Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minot’s short glimpses into the interactions of those seeking love, connection, lust, wantedness, desire and other [dis]affections is written very well.

Of course along with those descriptions it is expected to contain the sadness, emptiness, joy, heartbreak, longing, discontent, carelessness, etc that many of us have gone through. Those holding on blindedly, those holding on knowingly. It’s sad, it’s true, it’s familiar. The feelings evoked in the writing are a bit discomfiting, but confronting the same is perhaps an important step in overcoming difficulties within oneself or within the created universe of interpersonal communication.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed these stories; I did. I am a fan of a spare prose style, which Minot employs for the most part, but I am pretty bored with love and break-up stories, even ones as original as these. After my piece in the workshop last semester, several people recommended this book to me, and I can see why. The title story in particular was lovely, and perhaps worthy of further study, but for the most part these stories, while readable and poetic, and sometimes movingly melancholy, failed to inspire me as a writer.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really understand the popularity of this collection unless it's indicative of the tendency to mistake vague, incomplete renderings for depth. There are some real, brilliant moments, but it mostly suffers from the common theme that argues that bona fide emotional connections between lovers are only possible after the relationship has failed... gives credence to the idea that most writers are failed lovers.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a few good moments, but not enough to make any lasting mark. Reads like something written in a writer's workshop: overly crafted and lacking any measurable depth. Reminds me a lot of Joan Didion, so if you enjoy her then this might be your cup of tea.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is where I fell in love with Susan Minot. These are wonderful short stories...

[Chrissy Oropeza]

Chrissy Oropeza
Goodreads Long Review
November 15, 2011

Susan Minot compiled twelve of her fiction short stories into a book entitled Lust and Other Stories. These pieces are narrated by different women in different scenes of their lives, following the trend of romance. It is a powerful compilation that snapshots love and the trials and joys that accompany it. This novel brings to life the intimate moments that pinpoint women’t lives.
The book opens with one of Minot’s most popular short stories, Lust. The narrator of Lust tells her tales of love, or at least, her search of love. In the start of the piece, the narrator describes boys by name and her relationships with them; she shares the significance of them, if any exists. However, as the piece continues, the narrator becomes more negative and unattached; she talks of her dating escapades only naming the boys with body parts. The piece ends with a continued negative view of sex: “You do everything they want. Then comes after...their blank look tells you that the girl they were fucking is not there anymore. You seem to have disappeared” (Minot 17).
Throughout the short stories, Minot uses both first and third person narrative. Sparks, the second story is told from a first person point of view, by a character named Lil. This story is about a party that Lil attends; throughout the evening she recalls significant events throughout her life with a past lover, Duer. These memories are told out of order which adds complexity to the tale of one evening.
The third story, Blow, is told by and unnamed narrator in the first person point of view. The story tells of an afternoon that she spends with an old friend, Bill. Her short, abrupt sentences and explanations throughout this piece make the pace quick. The interaction occurs in one afternoon, while Bill is high on cocaine and upset about his lost relationship with Helen. The cocaine makes his character energetic and scattered; however, her character is “in that stage of being in love when you’re up in the clouds...” (Minot 47). This piece, though upbeat, ends on a pessimistic note. Referring to the negativity of Bill’s reflection on love, the narrator says, “Later when I came down I found out all of it was true” (Minot 47).
City Night is the first piece in this compilation that is told in the third person point of view. This story is about the introduction of Ellen Greenough and Nicholas Dickson and their following sexual escapade. The greatest strength of this piece is the verb usage and description-very strong and visual. For example, Theo swaying and muttering, Tina Means lighting cigarettes with gusto. People came and went- exuberant greetings, moments without a word. Then they were downstairs slumped on a couch, music thumping in the next room” (Minot 56). The piece essentially is about a one-night stand with a man that all girls want and the feeling Ellen is left with the next morning.
Lunch with Harry is a creative piece because the entire story comes from lunch that lasts a couple of minutes. The story is told in third person point of view; the three characters being Harry, his lover, Jane, and Jane’s friend, Emma. The piece’s essential theme is discontent in Harry and Jane’s relationship. This is abruptly revealed as Henry calls to Jane saying, “Will you come on, Rachel?” (Minot 70).
The Break Up is narrated from the third person point of view; the plot of the story is that Owen and Liz are dating and their friend Tim whose relationship has just ended comes over for a visit. The piece is moved by dialogue primarily-strong conversations. The story carries a bit of mystery, an unreliable past and backstory. It ends with a vague suggestion, “What do you think he meant by that?” (Minot 81). I think this is a powerful way to tell a story, to leave loose ends for the reader to conjure up ideas with.
The Swan in the Garden is told in the third person. A creative technique within this story is that it opens with a scene shown through dialogue; this conversation gives the reader a glance at the two main characters, Evie and Albert. This story envelops the trend that girls fall in love more often and quicker than boys do and that girls want to know where their relationships are headed. The dialogue within this piece is very realistic and relatable.
The Feather in the Toque is the next piece and is probably the most unique of Minot’s pieces. The two main characters are simply referred to as “man” and “woman.” The piece also lacks a physical description of either of them; they are a generic couple. The story is laden with descriptions of the house though as being open and bright. The story’s central theme is shown within two found items: a toque and a comb. The picture of a toque belonging to another woman and the comb belonging to the woman in the story. There is an openness to this piece, an uncertainty. The vagueness allows the reader to create to wonder what the situation really entails.
The Knot is the following piece and is creative in form. The short story is divided into four acts, each consisting of the same two characters. They move quickly. The first scene: love. The second scene: fighting. The third scene: break up. The fourth scene: hope. It is a realistic story told almost entirely through dialogue. This is my favorite piece in this compilation.
The Thrilling Life is told in the first person narrative and is the story of a man named Frank. Frank is discontent and restless, continually changing girls; the narrator describes his personality very well and analytically. The narrator believes “she’ll be a turning point” (Minot 122-123). She isn’t, none of the girls are. The ending is effective; the narrator shares what she would tell Frank’s “new girl” (Minot 122).
Old Siche is a very traditional short story within this novel; it is told in the third person and focuses on Meg Gillian. Though her name is given and her lover, Charles Howe’s name is given, the narrator often refers to them as “the girl” and “the man.” Whats stylistically good about this piece is the consistency and circularity: the story starts where it ends, but with a change of emotion.
The Man Who Would Not Go Away is the last piece and is excellent. It is about the remnants of a relationship that continually creep into remembrance. The narrator and the man are unnamed and for the most part un-described. This piece is very effective and revealing and old relationship as haunting; the repetitiveness of “man” as she talks is also very captivating.
Each of Minot’s works in this novel have a distinctive feel to them; they are easy to relate to, follow, and understand. The characters, situations, and emotions presented are realistic. Minot’s style of writing is simple, yet compelling; the reader is very easily pulled into and connected to the stories. She often using generalities which allows her audience to be broad.

[emily s · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love very short short stories as they can really pack a punch and paint a very vivid picture in just a few pages and some of these stories were just that. While some were ultimately forgettable, others like ‘Lust’, ‘Feather in the Toque’ and ‘Knot’ came together to woo me over. Minot knows how to create a thick and tangible tension in words that practically rises off the page and into the air around you. I love it when a surprising insight or something unexpected or takes place in the last paragraph / sentence and a lot of these stories delivered on that front.

Finished ages ago but have been neglecting Goodreads 🥺

3.5 stars

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are bite-sized marvels of sadness and loneliness. And I loved them. The endings, which I think tend to be the most problematic feature of a short story, were brilliant. The three stories I liked the most were "City Night", "Lunch with Harry", and 'The Break-up". The smallest details were breathtaking. The glove dropping in the puddle was so perfect in "Lunch with Harry".

"The Feather in the Toque" was also a favorite. The bird flapping around. Is it a distraction or does it mean something? So much to think about. I intend to read more of Susan Minot's writing.

[Andrés Canella · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually reserve "one star" for books I put down (DNF) or really preachy books that get on my nerves (The Alchemist). This series of short stories achieves it for an entirely different reason: completely uninteresting, save for one that was mildly revealing about relationships. The others were just... bleh. I sped read the last few stories.

[Isabelle Beanstra · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit boring but has some solid lines:

“Study the chin line. It’s shaped like a persimmon.”
“After sex you curl up like a shrimp…”
“All men are rats.”

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lust and other stories was written by Susan Minot and was published by Houghton Mifflin and S Lawrence in 1989. This book was released shortly after Minot’s best seller “Monkeys.” It contains 12 edgy, tense short stories that explore the lives of women who are not comfortable in their own skin and seek out the same relationship time and time again.
I normally do not read anything other than Fantasy, however when we were assigned this project I decided to try something different. Why not read a story about women and their troublesome relationship with men. At first I had a hard time getting into the short stories, but after I read the break up I became intrigued. The stories are filled with raw, intense emotions. I never thought that the stories could be so blatantly human and that the character could experience things that I only felt I ever experienced. Each story contains unfulfilled affairs and dead end romances. Minot’s use of dark, compelling language really drew me in. I felt like I could actually connect with each character, especially the woman from the break up because I too dealt with one just like hers. It felt more like a friend was telling me their experience instead of me reading a book. Minot’s use of the literary elements such as flashbacks and figurative language set the theme of the story about trust and complex relationships. One Example of Minot’s figurative language would be the statement “After sex, you curl up like a shrimp, something deep inside you ruined…” (Minot 253). To me, this illustrated the fact that most Women in society feel compelled to sleep with men, even if they do not desire too. At points in the story, I began to feel like it was the Women versus Society. For example, the unnamed protagonist of the story, told the time when she was a little girl and was forced to expose herself. “When we were little, the brothers next door tied up our ankles. They held the door of the goat house and wouldn’t let us out till we showed them our underpants” (Minot 247). At a young age, she felt like in order to fit in she had to reveal herself. The flashback in that one sentence revealed a loss of innocence and exposure to the real world. It was at this primitive moment that the protagonist lost the trust in men and endured the inability to hold a steady relationship with any man in the future.
There are some down sides with this book. For starters, though the title says lust in it, it has no big sex scenes and there is not much discussion on the actual lust. Also the whole thing felt like one huge monologue. At times I felt like the women were needy and the men who were only called “fellows” were distant. Each story was primarily focused on a female character. However there was one story with a significant but uninteresting male character. Most of the stories were the typical female character that have been through or are going through a bad relationship and cannot seem to get out. Just like it has the stereotypical male character who are unemotional, detached and always are looking for their next sex partner. I felt like Minot portrayed the women as emotional and unable to distinguish one guy from the next. They always pick the guy who is unattached and try to form a permanent relationship with. I felt like she made the women at times stupid and I wanted to hit her for it. Not all women want to just have sex with guys and automatically hope he is the one. Also not all women tend to pick the same guy over and over, however that is the impression that Minot gave off.
Lust and other stories is neither terrible nor is it the greatest; however it did teach me as a writer how to connect with the reader by using personal experiences. She taught me how to incorporate figurative language and flashback to connect the reader to the character and make them feel part of the story. Lust and other stories will engage you with its linguistic construction and beautiful crafting, almost poetic stories that are devastatingly honest yet the lack of true lust will leave you wanting to read a more engaging story.

[Christina Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lust and Other Stories
By: Susan Minot
First Vintage Contemporaries Edition

Susan Minot gets down and dirty and reveals the truth behind the most complicated bond we will ever have, the relationship between man and woman. Whether it is the union of husband and wife, simple lovers, or a one-night stand, Minot explains it all. If you need a book to relate to, find yourself saying, “yes!” out loud while reading because you understand exactly what the characters are going through, then pick up “Lust and Other Stories”. It will leave you with a better understanding of yourself and possibly a better understanding of past partners that you wish you could forget.

Lust and Other Stories is comprised of twelve short stories all written about the most complicated yet beautiful emotion, love. Lust, Sparks, Blow, City Night, Lunch With Harry, The Break Up, The Swan in the Garden, The Feather in the Toque, The Knot, A Thrilling Life, Ile Seche, and The Man Who Would Not Go Away make up the one hundred and forty-seven paged collection. Minot teaches her readers a different thing about relationships in each story. And each story moves effortlessly into the next. I will go further in depth with the stories that really touched me.

Lust, my favorite, and the first of the short stories describes a girl’s various sexual encounters with men over the years of her life. Through her short anecdotes you feel empathetic for the girl who is only trying to find love and companionship but is going about it all the wrong ways. I felt connected with her through her complete honesty. She explains, “The more girls a boy has, the better . . . . He’s got more in him, a fatter heart, more stories to tell. For a girl, with each boy its as though a petal gets plucked each time.” Minot made me sympathize with the girl and hope for love.

The Knot describes how certain exes will be intertwined forever. It first opens up with a happy couple, Cynthia and Peter. They are talking about how they could never imagine themselves fighting. Minot then fast-forwards to a fight the couple are having and it is apparent that their communication skills have hit a stand still with neither one backing down. Fast forward again, the estranged couple is having lunch and realizing that maybe it was too early to meet up again. Last fast forward, Cynthia and Peter run into each other while exercising and a spark ignites between them. Minot is trying to tell us through this story that some loves never die. “The touch was like a charge. Something rose up between them and bound them there.”

Blow involves a man, Bill, who is coked out and ranting to an unnamed woman about his break up with Helen. He explains that he needs to see a doctor but cannot stop doing coke before so. The unnamed woman begins to tell him about her new relationship with a cinematographer and when Bill begins to tell her that he is no good for her she refuses to listen. In all beginning stages of a relationship we are in complete bliss, a euphoric state, but eventually we all fall down from that state. “Later when I came down I found out that all of it was true.” The woman spoke of the uncertainties Bill had for a man he had never met.

Lust and Other Stories will leave you with an appreciation of love. It will teach you to be careful when giving your heart and body to another.

[Rishelle Vinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lust and Other Stories by Susan Minot published by Vintage Books in New York in 1989 is fiction book of short stories about experiences with men told from a woman narrative’s perspective. This book provides insight into the mind of a woman who is not only a victim men who are emotionally unavailable but a victim of putting herself in a cycle of loveless relationships. In “The Man Who Would Not Go Away”: “...the first feeling of love is always serene, and happy. It rejoices. Life has purpose after all. I kept it to myself, knowing it was in fact what he was running quickly from.”
She elegantly moves from memory to memory with ease and clarity. Although written in prose Minot puts the reader in dream-like state as they read the poetic-like accounts of the narrator’s misguided heart.
Minot starts off with a short story called, “Lust” where the narrator dedicates a couple sentences each to all of the guys she’s slept with in her life. As one reads this they will realize it is not an account of her sexual conquests; something she is proud of. “Then you start to get tired. You begin to feel diluted, like watered-down stew.” She chooses to go for guys who don’t care about her and does not respect them as a result.
Minot uses descriptions of the surroundings in all of her short stories to express the mood and feelings of her characters. “The Feather in the Toque” is set in a large house after a couple wakes up. She describes the grey sky and the low clouds; the bedroom being the same color of the sky. The room was tranquil and the house was obscure. And within all this calm and grey she introduces a little bird that gets into the house. The woman is concerned about it yet the man is not at all. After seeing the bird, by the time the woman gets into her bath the water is not even warm anymore. All of these descriptions develop subtext in her stories to create a thick and ornate read.
In “The Man Who Would Not Go Away” it says, “But it’s different for a woman!” It also says in “Lust”, “The more girls a boy has, the better. He has a bright look, having reaped fruits, blooming. He stalks around, sure shouldered, and you’ve got the feeling he’s got more in him, a fatter heart, more stories to tell. For a girl, with each boy it’s as though a petal gets plucked each time.”
If most women tried going around sleeping with as many men as possible they would feel empty inside. Women need to be careful of there bodies and their mental well-being. The foundation of societies are held up by women. Most men will only marry women who respect themselves. But if they know they don’t want to get married to a woman they will still sleep with them if a woman lets them. This book reaches out to women to help them understand what can happen to women if they let men use them.
Susan Minot is a precise and poetic prose writer who pulls the reader toward the heart of her stories. Her use of the characters’ surroundings to set off the mood of the story will entice the reader to put themselves in the room and in the head of the character of her choosing. “Lust and Other Stories” is an emotional and realistic account of how women with a lack of knowing her self worth deal with trying to find love.

[Kristen Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lust & other stories, Susan Minot 1989 Random House

Lust and other stories is a collection of short stories by Susan Minot, about the ambiguities of love and how lovers sometimes know what they want, but don’t know how to get it or how to keep it.
While I enjoyed the overall idea of the book, as I read each story the elements that worked and that didn’t work became clearer to me. It took me a couple of stories to understand her writing style. The first story in the book is Lust. I liked that the shape of this story was the “AHA” shape. In this story, the character talks about every guy she’s been with sexually. The more guys she’s with, the more broken she becomes. In the end she comes to a realization and she ends the story with this, “It starts this way: . . . They flash like all the stars are out. They look at you seriously, their eyes at a low burn and their hands no matter what starting off shy and with such a gentle touch that the only thing you can do is take that tenderness and let yourself be swept away. . . . You do everything they want. Then comes after. After when they don’t look at you. . . . Or if they do turn, their gaze is altogether changed. … your gone.” Then you understand the entire story. However, the story just feels anticlimactic. Some stories I had to read two or more times to understand what was happening. It felt very much like a “bathtub” story. One such story is Sparks.
After a few readings, I realized that Sparks is about a woman that had a nervous breakdown. The story is told using the “Juggling” shape. However, I felt like at times I didn’t have enough indication that the time was jumping to a flashback. Because the character is talking on the phone about a guy she met at a dinner party, and also during that dinner party she has flashbacks of her nervous breakdown, I became confused, and by the end of the story, I was left with more questions than answers. One example of this is when she first gets to the dinner party and everyone is listening to the actor. “The actor, it turned out, had just made a movie. Stacey asked him about that. He launched into a detailed plot explanation. Duer says, ‘Maybe I’ll try the movies,’ half kidding but really not kidding at all… Everyone tilted forward politely, listening.” It took me that second reading to realize that Duer wasn’t even at the party, he’s interrupting her story on the phone, but you think he’s actually at the party. The entire first reading you think he is at the party, because she keeps mentioning him, but not in the context of the phone conversation, rather in her inner monologue. Once I read the story again, I had an ‘Aha!” moment and realized that she was telling Duer the story on the phone, and being at the dinner party made her have flashbacks of her relationship with Duer. Once I understood that, the story made sense, and I realized that I enjoyed it. Something she did rather well, was her imagery and her attention to that detail.
Overall, I felt that the entire collection of stories was well compiled. I felt like each story connected to the next and that it achieved its overall goal of telling the story about the ambiguity of love.

[Tyler Chatelain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Minot's Lust and Other Stories is an intriguing novel which depicts the various social implications faced by women as a result of involvement in relationships –often sexual– with men, capturing the beneficial and negative aspects of relationships, while also highlighting the deeper issues women face when dating. Throughout the novel Minot seems effective in managing to display the importance these relationships and social conflicts have in how they often adversely affect the women portrayed, leaving some crippled emotionally while challenging the beliefs each hold within their personal stories. Overall, Lust and Other Stories serves as a reflection for the affairs of women in trying to manage or overcome the qualms of their lovelives.
The novel begins with the titular chapter on Lust, which details the various sexual encounters faced by a young woman during her early teenage years and how they come to drive and haunt her. Here, Minot explores the differences between men and women in how they respond to “love” and sex, it being that “the more girls a boy has, the better. He has a bright look, having reaped fruits...For a girl, with each boy it's as though a petal gets plucked each time,” with men throughout the novel coming to become prouder and growing distant from the women whom feel detached from their lovers, as if they were seen not as equals but being used as sexual objects (Minot 11). This idea becomes the primary concept which Minot explores throughout Lust, by which most men are effectively passion-driven bastards who take pride in seeming to seek dominance over these women and the ability to conquer their bodies, while disregarding the emotions of their lovers if only to fulfill their own desires.
It's interesting how Minot's stories contain a common premise which mostly paints a negative outlook on men. She effectively does so by describing male lovers who seem to gradually withdraw themselves from their relationships, eventually turning their backs on their girlfriends, displaying anger at frivolous requests, and distancing themselves physically while ignoring or snapping at their partner's responses. Though the novel focuses mostly on the disgusting ways in which men will neglect their partner's emotions, Minot does avoid making Lust seem completely biased by including several stories in which the men either inspire their partners or become the victims themselves.
Although the text displays women whom seem entirely passive throughout, Minot's writing seems powerful due to the realistic accounts which the women provide in their own dealings and misfortunes with love. The use of multiple short stories allows a reader to get directly into the head of these women, varying greatly from psychologically disturbed to self-assertive women, in order to display diversity in the status of each, while still focusing on the issues they all experience in dealing with men. These realistic inadequacies portrayed throughout the novel are what allow Minot's characters to feel so relatable, allowing the readers to establish some connection with them in having sympathy for their plights.

[Christey Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

“She’d seen a new world, one she didn’t know anything about. She was drawn to it” (60). This is a personal feeling that Susan Minot’s Lust and Other Stories brings to me. The book serves as a passport or a golden ticket.
This short story book was published in 1989 by Houghton Mifflin. Throughout Lust and Other Stories, Minot creates an assortment of love, lust, and sexual situations that explores the difficulties of romantic relationships or lack thereof.
Throughout these stories, the main highlight is the inequality of men and women in relationships. The men through the text, for the most part, are those who scarcely undergo any misery at all. Furthermore, they tend to be unfeeling and uncommitted. On the other hand, her women tend to be those who are affected by previous or current experiences in their love and/or sexual lives that have or are currently deteriorating. They are anguished and empty after their unsatisfying relationship and are now afflicted with emotional baggage and pain. The stories juxtapose the differences of the roles of these men and women in romantic relationships.
An example of these relationships is in “The Man Who Would Not Go Away.” The unnamed narrator who thinks often of a reporter she previously had a relationship with and has to distracts herself in day to day life seeing films to pass time. While she longs, the man after being in the relationship for only a short time when he was initially “persistent,” he grow “distracted” and “drifted away” moving along effortlessly (141).
While reading through these stories, it feels quite natural to be unattached to the main character, usually a woman, as this emphasizes the women the protagonists’ isolation and emptiness that they feel after their disconcerting experiences in their relationships.
The stories are told in a variety of point of views ranging from first person to third person and limited to omniscient. These points of views effectively add depth and variety to the stories. While the first person narration effectively conveys the protagonist’s interior feelings and thoughts. The stories with third person omniscient point of views usually focus on one character.
Minot’s style is like that of a minimalist, giving physically only the surface of the story with the rest being implied. Her writing is straightforward using simple diction and sentence structure. Minot’s strength, in my opinion, lies with her style. Her simple, honest approach is clear-cut and refreshing. The fact that she can write about the same thing repeatedly while presenting a new take on it every time is phenomenal and inspiring.
As a writer, Susan Minot is someone for me to look up to. I am more of a poetry person myself but I do enjoy writing a short story now and then and her simplistic approach is something that I can connect with but her work is a prime example of the way to do it right, something I feel I struggle with. Her ability to disconnect a reader while keeping them engaged is also unparalleled and, with any luck, this is something that will probably not only seep into my short stories but probably my poetry as well.