Secretary

by Mary Gaitskill

A writer engulfed by a new obsession, an occasional sex-worker, a runaway, a teenager entering the workplace: these four tales of desire and dislocation explore the rough edges of relationships and the inner lives of women negotiating their precarious place in the world. In these coolly compelling and quietly devastating stories, Gaitskill evokes with razor-sharp precision the pleasure, pain, fear and longing that haunt modern life.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 17, 2025

About the author

Mary Gaitskill is an American author of essays, short stories and novels. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Esquire, The Best American Short Stories (1993 and 2006), and The O. Henry Prize Stories (1998). She married writer Peter Trachtenberg in 2001. As of 2005, she lived in New York City; Gaitskill has previously lived in Toronto, San Francisco, and Marin County, CA, as well as attending the University of Michigan where she earned her B.A. and won a Hopwood Award. Gaitskill has recounted (in her essay "Revelation") becoming a born-again Christian at age 21 but lapsing after six months.

Reviews

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are big differences between the short story “secretary” and the 2002 movie in the way they interpreted each other’s and their own actions and intentions. The pinky scene is of great importance in the movie and the last phone call is important for the book. Overall, I loved this collection. In each short story you could detect a different object of desire.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Secretary was a captivating and thought-provoking collection of short stories that tackled the more taboo themes present in society. This short story collection is the perfect read if you are looking for something quick but reflective.

⭐⭐⭐.75
Trying to Be was an engaging and reflective story. This story was a good start to this collection, and the perspective was intriguing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dentist, okay, Jill's obsession with George was a tad creepy. However, it was fascinating to read the perspective of a woman perpetrator who displays this type of obsessive behaviour.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Secretary, the titular story, was my favourite in this collection. This story was engaging and thought-provoking. It did include strong themes of sexual assault, but it was interesting to see how Mary Gaitskill handled this theme in her writing with an honest reflection of how society deals with this type of abuse.

⭐⭐⭐
Because They Wanted To wasn't the best in this collection, but it wasn't terrible either. The story had felt a little unfinished, but it was interesting to see how Gairskill handled the themes of abuse, family dynamics and voyeurism. However, it is hard not to compare this story to the first three, and when comparing it, it felt like it lacked something.

[Liefke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of bold, funky stories about unconventional city life in the '80s and '90s—like a darker version of Sex and the City. I really enjoyed the writing style and the pacing of the stories, though the endings sometimes felt a bit abrupt; just when I wanted to know more, they were over. But I guess that’s kind of the point of short stories, right? Anyway, I’d been meaning to read this collection because I love the movie Secretary, which is based on the short story of the same name… and I can’t lie, I liked the movie better (which feels like a deadly sin for someone who studied literature lol).

[etherealacademia · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have to read more gaitskill

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Striking short stories that seems to revolve around similar questions about women's relationship to men. Gaitskill looks at the vulnerability of young women, and the dichotomy between their perception of themselves, and others perceptions of them. It's an interesting introduction to her work, particularly as all of these stories include very violent or dangerous sex, and Gaitskill's women characters all struggle to have any sense of self worth, or to know if they can have boundaries. Her insights are often apt, but across the four stories I began to lose heart, as they are so grim.

[Anastasiia · Rating 3 out of 5]

someone here has described this as a darker version of Sex and the City and I couldn’t agree more

[Dorian Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What's interesting about the dentist... he's solved your problems, but he also caused them to a certain extent. I mean, he hurt you" - pg.39

Really good collection of stories, I enjoyed the little peppering of Jung and a lot of the psychological exploration the characters undergo. Definitely not the same 'Secretary' seen in the film, but actually more intriguing for it.

[Sakshi]

I don't give short stories enough credit. This was really engaging. Gaitskill draws such a vivid picture of everyday life with striking similes and that really stood out to me!!

"as if they (stories) were exquisite silk prints that she fluttered before Jill's eyes "

"For days she cherished this fantasy, even as it faded like a favourite rough spot on the inside of her mouth"

[Amy Siggery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories, my favourite being the first “trying to be” my least favourite being the last “because they wanted too” purely because I want to know what happened to the mother and why she was late or if she ever turned up at home at all. If you’re trying to get back into reading these penguin archive books are the best way to go about it.

[Emma-Louise Ekpo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a thought provoking short story, that is quite restrained in its descriptive details leaving a lot of blanks and questions. I don’t think this is to the detriment of the text, it allows diverse interpretations of all the characters.

I LOVE the movie, which I think is an excellent adaptation of this text. It does not follow the story exactly but I think builds upon it to explore one of the diverse interpretations.

Apparently there is a sequel or some sort which I’m interested to check out.

(Using this to log Secretary story only)

[Annagutierrezxox · Rating 3 out of 5]

the movie is WAYYYYY better, but I loved the dentist story, and secretary wasn’t bad at all

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The collection could almost be an intellectual beach read, clear writing and salacious. But I’m not motivated to keep reading sad stories about various kinds of suburban/middle class-adjacent abused women. Maybe this was more culturally important in the 80s

[nana · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad, i guess? need to read more mary gaitskill now.

[cruella deVille · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐ I really enjoyed the first three short stories. They portraied sex and humans in such a realistic matter-of-fact way that paired with Gaitskills writing made them really enjoyable. Especially her writing style is just fantastic.
I have to say though, I expected a bit more of "Secretary" as I know the film and therefore expected it to be a bit longer and more intense plot-wise. The film seems to differ quite a lot from the inspiration, still I enjoyed it.
I didn't really like the last short story, I couldn't really get a feel for the main character. To me it felt like she was lacking charcter depth, that was evident in the first three main characters.

Still, it was a very nice collection of short stories that harmonized well with each other. I can only recommend ;)

[Kobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially was interested in picking this up for the titular short story because the film adaptation of Secretary is one of my favourites. But surprisingly, it ended up being my least favourite story of the four in this collection. Mary Gaitskill does such a great job of pulling you straight into each story. I felt connected to these characters within the first page, which is almost all I can ask for in a short story. Wonderful! I’m looking forward to reading more from Gaitskill, I definitely recommend this!

[Gin · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘I felt a numbness; I felt that I could never have a normal conversation with anyone again.’

This collection felt like the kiss of life to me, each story was so refreshing and interesting and I am totally enamoured with how Mary Gaitskill writes her protagonists and the little worlds they inhabit. It also shocked me how different the titular story is to its movie adaptation, not at all in a bad way though! Would definitely recommend this for someone looking for a quick yet complex read.

[Maria Hämäläinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like someone was whispering secrets I didn't want to know, directly into my ear. I will now be taking a cold shower and retreating back into my Anthony Bourdain biography.

Also thanks to the film, every character in every story had the face of either Maggie Gyllenhaal or James Spader. I’m not proud of this. But it happened.

[karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

present from anna. she read it after finishing her finals and said it’s all about “single women working jobs”. perfect. watched the piano teacher recently though and combined with this, i feel like the world has been very perverse lately. need a new summer vibe 😭

[Issy Pooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ironically picked this up to read The Secretary and ended up enjoying it the least…. Note it is not quite like the movie!

Great collection though & explores desire brilliantly… The Dentist and Trying to Be were my favs

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation of four short stories that give an insight as to how four women got into bad situations later in life. I felt for each of them, in so few pages the author quickly provided a backstory as well as their current mental state that informs their decisions. Interesting read.

[Simmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Quietly beautiful slice-of-life stories about connection, loneliness, and ephemeral moments of touching another person's life. My personal favorite was Because They Wanted To, followed closely by The Dentist.

[Eline · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/5
Really liked the first 3 stories, 4th one was rather disappointing.

[Amy Moss]

mary gaitskill i lov u

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* the secretary and dentist were definitely my favourite of the four

[andra · Rating 2 out of 5]

just don't seem to get along with gaitskill's writing :( this made me hate the movie secretary even more though, so that's nice <3

[Emily Lomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

short stories about the female experience? sign me up!

[Wiktoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncomfortable

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Ruby Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it obviously because it’s Gaitskill and short stories. And fucked go women. Doesn’t get much better for me.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very striking short stories on female vulnerability and relationships. I should read more Gaitskill. How'd they go from Secretary the story to Secretary the movie? Pretty different.