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Bystanders
Legacies of violence and tragedy haunt these thirteen stunning stories from Tara Laskowski, author of Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons. A woman becomes obsessed with her co-worker’s murderer; an investigative reporter with a nose for scandal finds his own life suddenly unraveling; eerie sights in a video baby monitor haunt a new mother. When the unexpected happens, these bystanders—who are not always innocent—come face to face with their own choices and fates. Bound together by danger, fear, paranoia, and the bumps we all hear in the night, these potent stories illuminate the darker side of the human condition. From a vicious newspaper strike that rocks a small Pennsylvania community to an unpredictable road trip in the vast desert of the American West, BYSTANDERS explores the ways in which terror and uncertainty both consume and invigorate us—and yet reveal our strengths, hopes, and passions.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR BYSTANDERS:
“‘Short story’ and ‘thriller’ tend to be incompatible genres, but not in the hands of Tara Laskowski. BYSTANDERS is a bold, riveting mash-up of Hitchcockian suspense and campfire-tale chills.”
— Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD
“There’s still plenty left,” one of the characters in “ The Witness” says, referencing a cake, but the reader has been taken deep enough into the story to know that there’s no way that can be true, because there’s not enough of anything left for the main character. And in one story after another in this excellent collection, characters are tested when their expectations are strained and even shattered, not by the extraordinary, but more devastatingly, by the ordinary. Tara Laskowski’s collection will be welcomed by readers who care about witnessing the significant rather than the spectacular.”
— Gary Fincke, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Prize for SORRY I WORRIED YOU
“Tara Laskowski’s stories are deceptively cozy: soft suburban street lights out front, but a too-deep swimming pool out back. With a deft touch, she ravels and unravels her characters’ lives so seamlessly; they never know what’s coming until they’re in too deep, and what’s scarier, the reader doesn’t, either.”
— Jen Michalski, author of The Tide King and The Summer She Was Under Water
“In this debut that resonates, Tara Laskowski’s women and men drift through an imperfect suburbia, much like the disembodied souls who haunt her characters day and night. Laskowski has a natural ability to pen the banal, juxtaposed with the horror that often lurks just outside the light that spills from our windows. She digs into the crevices and corners of everyday lives to find the grit, the dirt, the ghosts—our deepest secrets—then finds a way to turn it all into crystal clear story moments that will enlighten her readers.”
— Tara L. Masih, Series Editor, The Best Small Fictions
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR BYSTANDERS:
“‘Short story’ and ‘thriller’ tend to be incompatible genres, but not in the hands of Tara Laskowski. BYSTANDERS is a bold, riveting mash-up of Hitchcockian suspense and campfire-tale chills.”
— Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD
“There’s still plenty left,” one of the characters in “ The Witness” says, referencing a cake, but the reader has been taken deep enough into the story to know that there’s no way that can be true, because there’s not enough of anything left for the main character. And in one story after another in this excellent collection, characters are tested when their expectations are strained and even shattered, not by the extraordinary, but more devastatingly, by the ordinary. Tara Laskowski’s collection will be welcomed by readers who care about witnessing the significant rather than the spectacular.”
— Gary Fincke, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Prize for SORRY I WORRIED YOU
“Tara Laskowski’s stories are deceptively cozy: soft suburban street lights out front, but a too-deep swimming pool out back. With a deft touch, she ravels and unravels her characters’ lives so seamlessly; they never know what’s coming until they’re in too deep, and what’s scarier, the reader doesn’t, either.”
— Jen Michalski, author of The Tide King and The Summer She Was Under Water
“In this debut that resonates, Tara Laskowski’s women and men drift through an imperfect suburbia, much like the disembodied souls who haunt her characters day and night. Laskowski has a natural ability to pen the banal, juxtaposed with the horror that often lurks just outside the light that spills from our windows. She digs into the crevices and corners of everyday lives to find the grit, the dirt, the ghosts—our deepest secrets—then finds a way to turn it all into crystal clear story moments that will enlighten her readers.”
— Tara L. Masih, Series Editor, The Best Small Fictions
238 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2016
14 people are currently reading
556 people want to read
About the author
Tara Laskowski
23 books688 followersTARA LASKOWSKI is the author of the suspense novels The Weekend Retreat, The Mother Next Door, and One Night Gone, which won the Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and the Anthony Award. She also wrote two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders. She has won the Agatha Award and Thriller Award for her short fiction and was the longtime editor of the online flash fiction journal SmokeLong Quarterly. Follow her on Instagram, @TaraLWrites.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 31, 2016
Hell ya, I read this book . It's my daughter and I am dam proud of her. You will love this book! Read it and find out why. Guaranteed you will enjoy. I taught Tara to respect books and she started reading at age four. So she loves writing as much as reading. She and her husband, Art Taylor, who is also a writer, started reading their son when he was just an infant. Can't wait to read the reviews when it comes out. Enjoy!
May 30, 2016
Derek knows nothing substantial about the guy Hannah fucked. He knows his name and age and how she met him---the douche was renovating their apartment complex's gym. He could do more research but his therapist frowns on this. On the way out of the real estate agent's office he thinks, though, that perhaps once he and Hannah find a place he may make a bitter crack about how they can call Paul in to remodel the place and make it more "homey." He thinks about saying this and it feels to him like unleashing a wild pack of lions on her bones. But he just keeps quiet. He's supposed to be working on the anger.
I purchased this book after meeting the author at a local writing event where she was supporting her husband who is also a writer. When I looked up her book and saw it was a winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project, I figured it was worth purchasing, if only to support our local talent.
And guess what. It was worth every penny. This was phenomenal. With the exception of a couple of the stories, actually the first two which just didn't seem on the same level with the others, the majority of the stories embodied what my idea of a great short story should be.
I love, love, love well-developed and relatable characters as well as poignant storylines. I also appreciate when an author allows us to see their characters for the hot mess they are, flawed and floundering, yet perfect because of their imperfections.
Many of the stories have a Raymond Carver-esque thing going for them. One story in particular, The Cat-Sitter, is reminiscent of Carver's very popular story Neighbors. My personal favorites included Happy and Humpy, Half the Distance to the Goal Line, Other People's Houses, Support, Scabs, and Death Wish.
I've read my fair share of short story compilations, and I'd probably rank this in my top ten.
I see great things in this writer's future and look forward to reading future works. Highly recommend to fans of literature and the short story, particularly those stories with a voyeuristic feel. This author may still be relatively unknown, but if there is any justice in the written world, she won't be for long.
Oh, and kudos on the title and the cover design. Both are well suited to the collection.
I purchased this book after meeting the author at a local writing event where she was supporting her husband who is also a writer. When I looked up her book and saw it was a winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project, I figured it was worth purchasing, if only to support our local talent.
And guess what. It was worth every penny. This was phenomenal. With the exception of a couple of the stories, actually the first two which just didn't seem on the same level with the others, the majority of the stories embodied what my idea of a great short story should be.
I love, love, love well-developed and relatable characters as well as poignant storylines. I also appreciate when an author allows us to see their characters for the hot mess they are, flawed and floundering, yet perfect because of their imperfections.
Many of the stories have a Raymond Carver-esque thing going for them. One story in particular, The Cat-Sitter, is reminiscent of Carver's very popular story Neighbors. My personal favorites included Happy and Humpy, Half the Distance to the Goal Line, Other People's Houses, Support, Scabs, and Death Wish.
I've read my fair share of short story compilations, and I'd probably rank this in my top ten.
I see great things in this writer's future and look forward to reading future works. Highly recommend to fans of literature and the short story, particularly those stories with a voyeuristic feel. This author may still be relatively unknown, but if there is any justice in the written world, she won't be for long.
Oh, and kudos on the title and the cover design. Both are well suited to the collection.
July 8, 2015
My book blurb: In this debut that resonates, Tara Laskowski’s women and men drift through an imperfect suburbia, much like the disembodied souls who haunt her characters day and night. Laskowski has a natural ability to pen the banal, juxtaposed with the horror that often lurks just outside the light that spills from our windows. She digs into the crevices and corners of everyday lives to find the grit, the dirt, the ghosts—our deepest secrets—then finds a way to turn it all into crystal clear story moments that will enlighten her readers.
December 11, 2016
I received this book free from goodreads... great short fiction stories of great execution..maybe a little
Bit of you or people you pass by in ordinary life, but some complication perhaps. Captivating story
Writing. Anxieties, secrets, life, looking inside unexpected circumstances. You might see a bit of
Yourself in here !
Bit of you or people you pass by in ordinary life, but some complication perhaps. Captivating story
Writing. Anxieties, secrets, life, looking inside unexpected circumstances. You might see a bit of
Yourself in here !
May 23, 2016
These stories have swirled around in my brain long after I've read them. They are mysterious and haunting, sometimes disturbing, and always perfectly executed. Always about something more than what they seem. As I read one and then another, I kept thinking, OK this one is my favorite.
December 16, 2016
A very interesting book of short stories. Makes one think as reading the lives of these disfunctional folks. All seem to be caught in a web they aren't happy with. The writer knows how to keep one in the story and waiting for endings only we surmise. Thanks to Goodreads.
December 16, 2016
Great book! I love the short stories!
March 8, 2019
What a fantastic set of short stories. Sad and funny and all the other emotions in between. Not every story landed, of course, but nearly all did (Half the Distance to the Goal Line, Other People's Houses, Entrapment and Scabs were my personal favorites). It doesn't pay to be inactive or passive in these stories, and the protagonists all learn--or fail to learn--these lessons. It's a good takeaway for life, you know?
The stories are brisk but meaty and Tara's language and imagery is lovely without trying too hard. I highly recommend giving this one a read!
The stories are brisk but meaty and Tara's language and imagery is lovely without trying too hard. I highly recommend giving this one a read!
June 8, 2016
Full review at Grab the Lapels!
December 13, 2016
A good book of short stories that will keep the reader interested. Some of the stories can be dark but well worth a read.
August 12, 2023
This is a book about relationships. While many of the stories use suspense tropes they are, at their core, concerned with men and women trying to get along. The characters range across class and intellect and it is often the more apparently ‘normal’ people who jump off the page most clearly. Lots of nice details in these stories and some fizzing turns of phrase. A lingering pleasure.
May 16, 2017
Each story reaches into the soul of its characters. A must read for short story or literary lovers.
June 23, 2018
Bystanders is not your normal book of literary short stories. These stories are at times frightening, but always illuminating of how we try to survive in a violent, but startlingly beautiful world. Laskowski writes with power and verb, finding those small, specific details that make these characters come alive on the page. Highly recommended to readers who love short stories, who want the deep insight into characters, but who also want the thrill of entering a mysterious and eerie version of the world that we all know is hiding just below the surface.
April 8, 2016
A lot of interesting stories. The first two felt like they didn't click--they were almost there--but something was missing. The rest feature a lot of wounded characters working through their issues. The characters felt genuine, and there are a number of times where you feel like you-re following people rather than reading a shaped story. That's meant as a compliment. A few endings end in interesting places, as if the story was disinterested in presenting a tidy resolution. Always nice to encounter stories that mirror real life challenges. "Half the Distance to the Goal Line" and "Other People's House's" stand out in the collection.
June 9, 2016
Tara Laskowski is a short story master. This collections takes everyday, suburban life and exposes a subtle, creepy underside. Violence touches these stories, but they aren't violent. They're reminiscent of Dan Chaon short stories, but are definitely in their own element. This collection is both for lovers of great short fiction any anyone who loves looking for the odd in the everyday. Love this book.
May 30, 2016
What an excellent collection of stories! Stand outs include "The Monitor," "The Cat Sitter," "Entrapment," and "Support." I'm looking forward to reading more of Tara's work.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews