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Still Talking: Stories
Not yet published
Expected 17 Mar 26"For almost six decades Segal has quietly produced some of the best fiction and essays in American literature..."—The New York Times
The eagerly awaited follow-up to Ladies Lunch, beloved New Yorker writer Lore Segal's final story collection returns with further tales of the old friends who have loved and lunched together for over 40 years.
"Segal writes with welcome clarity about life’s final years, and if her characters are not always as wise as they think they are, Segal eyes them all with the unsentimental wisdom of a life spent writing wondrous stories and essays, a career spent telling the truth."—Slate
Lore Segal is a master of the short story, and this story collection shows her in peak form. Profound, dark, and often hilarious, Segal portrays her characters foibles, eccentricities and passions with great compassion and exactness, as they grapple with life, aging, and each other.
The eagerly awaited follow-up to Ladies Lunch, beloved New Yorker writer Lore Segal's final story collection returns with further tales of the old friends who have loved and lunched together for over 40 years.
"Segal writes with welcome clarity about life’s final years, and if her characters are not always as wise as they think they are, Segal eyes them all with the unsentimental wisdom of a life spent writing wondrous stories and essays, a career spent telling the truth."—Slate
Lore Segal is a master of the short story, and this story collection shows her in peak form. Profound, dark, and often hilarious, Segal portrays her characters foibles, eccentricities and passions with great compassion and exactness, as they grapple with life, aging, and each other.
128 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 17, 2026
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Lore Segal
39 books142 followersLore Vailer Segal was an Austrian-American novelist, translator, teacher, short story writer, and author of children's books. Her novel Shakespeare's Kitchen was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Fantastic, short, posthumous set of short stories by one of our greatest modern short story writers. The characters were absolutely incredible and the stories were all very effective. I would recommend this one. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to Melville House (distributed by PRH) and NetGalley for an eARC of this title. To be published March 26, 2026.
This is a slim, posthumous, volume of short, and short short, stories that continues on Segal's 2023 collection, "Ladies' Lunch". Most of the stories here have been published in the "New Yorker" previously.
And Segal was the ultimate New Yorker! Jewish, literary, Upper West Side - which describes all of the ladies who lunch together here (or during COVID, and later as their age limits their being able to get out and about, gather on Zoom).
But it is also a tale of friends aging. And using your friends stories to develop your own fictions (the Segal-like character here explains to her friends in the book that she has already killed off a couple of them in her stories- although they seem to still be alive in real life!).
And it is also a book about the years and decades of friendship. When one of them has a crisis, they all appear - even though the idea of going out at their age is something they no longer look forward to (no more trains or theatre or movies for them!).
But it is the aging, and all it involves, and the possible loneliness, the lack of their family's attention, that the ladies talk about the most - and hence Segal writes about. No holds barred. She passed at the age of 96 in 2024.
As a graduate student in the mid-1980's, I was lucky enough to take a class she offered during her time at the U of IL-Chicago about Fable and Folklore. In 1973 she translated and collected a 2 volume edition of the Grimm Brothers Tales, along with Randall Jarrell, and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It is still THE English collection you want to have of the Grimm Tales. I had forgotten that she had written a number of children's books as well. I still fondly remember that class, and her wide ranging knowledge, intelligence, and insight.
She had also just published what would be her most popular novel, "Her First American" (1985). Although the Ultimate New Yorker, Chicago embraced her, and we sold the pb edition of that novel hand over fist at the indie bookstore I worked at (one of the Barbara's).
I am glad that Melville is publishing her late in life writings, and republishing some of her earlier work (including "Her First American"). This also comes with a warm appreciation and Introduction by her friend, Vivian Gornick.
I have to admit I have not read her since that time in the '80's. That will change. While this is a continuation of "Ladies' Lunch", you do not have to have read that before you read this. But, after reading this, I am looking forward to picking up that collection soon as well.
4.5 out of 5.
This is a slim, posthumous, volume of short, and short short, stories that continues on Segal's 2023 collection, "Ladies' Lunch". Most of the stories here have been published in the "New Yorker" previously.
And Segal was the ultimate New Yorker! Jewish, literary, Upper West Side - which describes all of the ladies who lunch together here (or during COVID, and later as their age limits their being able to get out and about, gather on Zoom).
But it is also a tale of friends aging. And using your friends stories to develop your own fictions (the Segal-like character here explains to her friends in the book that she has already killed off a couple of them in her stories- although they seem to still be alive in real life!).
And it is also a book about the years and decades of friendship. When one of them has a crisis, they all appear - even though the idea of going out at their age is something they no longer look forward to (no more trains or theatre or movies for them!).
But it is the aging, and all it involves, and the possible loneliness, the lack of their family's attention, that the ladies talk about the most - and hence Segal writes about. No holds barred. She passed at the age of 96 in 2024.
As a graduate student in the mid-1980's, I was lucky enough to take a class she offered during her time at the U of IL-Chicago about Fable and Folklore. In 1973 she translated and collected a 2 volume edition of the Grimm Brothers Tales, along with Randall Jarrell, and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It is still THE English collection you want to have of the Grimm Tales. I had forgotten that she had written a number of children's books as well. I still fondly remember that class, and her wide ranging knowledge, intelligence, and insight.
She had also just published what would be her most popular novel, "Her First American" (1985). Although the Ultimate New Yorker, Chicago embraced her, and we sold the pb edition of that novel hand over fist at the indie bookstore I worked at (one of the Barbara's).
I am glad that Melville is publishing her late in life writings, and republishing some of her earlier work (including "Her First American"). This also comes with a warm appreciation and Introduction by her friend, Vivian Gornick.
I have to admit I have not read her since that time in the '80's. That will change. While this is a continuation of "Ladies' Lunch", you do not have to have read that before you read this. But, after reading this, I am looking forward to picking up that collection soon as well.
4.5 out of 5.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews