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Twin Study
In the sense that all stories have been written before, a truly startling piece of fiction may be the greatest literary feat possible. Enter Stacey Richter, a virtuoso contender for that very prize, whose offbeat characters manage to toe the line between eccentricity and banal daily life. Each story is organized around a pair of characters, and these characters are permitted to reach their full bizarre potential against mundane backdrops. The result is fiction that drives toward a place of surreal revelation, in these sometimes disturbing, often funny, short pieces. In Twin Study , Richter beautifully captures — albeit through unlikely exemplars — the essential experience of humanity.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
September 1, 2019
This is way, way, way better than "My Date with Satan," her first collection. Here, she masters the art of surprised, twisty endings and compelling characters. There's a story about an elderly lady who befriends a twenty-something punk kid, and hangs out at a punk show with him and his friends! Who else can pull that off? Ms. Cavemen in the Hedges can. There's one story told as a half sci fi, half medical journal, that I wasn't really feeling. But I tend to prefer the classic single plot line, first person narrated, forward-moving stories. Most of her stories worked for me in this collection. I will buy this, someday. That's a huge endorsement, coming from my tight pockets.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2013
I got quite a few used books just because they were short stories. Mostly I didn’t know the authors. So this is one of them picked more or less randomly off the shelf. Wish me luck! My ten year old says I don’t laugh. She is wrong. I laugh inside where you cannot see. Quietly. These stories are supposed to be quirky.
I didn’t think I made New Year’s Resolutions but it turns out I do. Now, you ask, “What does this have to do with June?” My 2013 resolution is to find out how many stories the average short story book includes.
Twelve. So far the average short story book has twelve stories. That is an average of one book. This one. Since my other resolution is to read short story books we will see in the coming months if that average rises or falls.
“Twin Study” gets me off to a quirky start. Identical twin sisters meet every four years to be a part of a study that was started when they were twelve. The goal of one twin is to be as different from her sister as possible. Or is it? (5 stars)
“Velvet” is the life story of an Australian terrier mix. It is a chance to follow the interior life of a dog closely through her adventures. (5 stars)
“The Cavemen in the Hedges” examines the life of our narrator and his girlfriend as they go through a rough period of their ten year relationship. The role of the cavemen is more than symbolic. (4 stars)
After the first three stories I want to give this book five stars. But the fourth story, “The Long Hall,” is about teenage sisters bumbling around a teenage boy, an absent father and a wino mother. Nothing really happy or funny about this story. Since there are teenagers, there is angst. (3 stars)
Where is best for a young Jewish unmarried couple to live but Yuletide Village where outdoor Christmas decorations take over three weeks out of the year in honor of “Christ, Their Lord”? “There is nothing like Christmas in Arizona, azure skies and seventy-two degrees, to make the world look fraudulent.” (4 stars)
Well, “Blackout” is raunchy. And maybe sexist if not misogynistic with its Spring Break setting. Is this how we want to imagine another human being? Evidently, yes. (1 star)
A girl is subjected to a Mommy Binge on her thirteenth birthday in a swank NYC restaurant as I cringe through the way, way over-the-top “My Mother the Rock Star.” Once again experiencing her mother’s outrageousness, the new teenager thinks, “I start to get used to it.” (3 stars)
Two poets take an underage boy out into the desert. Poetry is the last thing on their minds in “Habits and Habitat of the Southwestern Bad Boy.” (3 stars)
Another unlikely but interesting tale. I guess they all are, aren’t they? In this one a woman grows a brainless clone that is supposed to get her out of “The Land of Pain.” It doesn’t work out. (4 stars)
The combination of science and fantasy is a common literary event. In “A Case Study of Emergency Room Procedure and Risk Management by Hospital Staff Members in the Urban Facility” a case of drug induced fantasy draws in most of the emergency room staff late one night. But who wreaked so much havoc in the waiting room? It looks as if someone drove a motorcycle through it. (5 stars)
A May December relationship can be sweet if somewhat kinky. Since this is more of a kinky book, I have to think this story leans more in that direction. “Young People Today” has the standard dig a hole and then fill it in scenario. (3 stars)
When is a relationship not a relationship? The dream of doing a “Duet” was not to be. (4 stars)
I don’t mind bumping Twin Study up from 3 2/3 to four stars. I did enjoy it that much. I like quirky quite a bit. And bizarre ain’t bad either.
I didn’t think I made New Year’s Resolutions but it turns out I do. Now, you ask, “What does this have to do with June?” My 2013 resolution is to find out how many stories the average short story book includes.
Twelve. So far the average short story book has twelve stories. That is an average of one book. This one. Since my other resolution is to read short story books we will see in the coming months if that average rises or falls.
“Twin Study” gets me off to a quirky start. Identical twin sisters meet every four years to be a part of a study that was started when they were twelve. The goal of one twin is to be as different from her sister as possible. Or is it? (5 stars)
“Velvet” is the life story of an Australian terrier mix. It is a chance to follow the interior life of a dog closely through her adventures. (5 stars)
“The Cavemen in the Hedges” examines the life of our narrator and his girlfriend as they go through a rough period of their ten year relationship. The role of the cavemen is more than symbolic. (4 stars)
After the first three stories I want to give this book five stars. But the fourth story, “The Long Hall,” is about teenage sisters bumbling around a teenage boy, an absent father and a wino mother. Nothing really happy or funny about this story. Since there are teenagers, there is angst. (3 stars)
Where is best for a young Jewish unmarried couple to live but Yuletide Village where outdoor Christmas decorations take over three weeks out of the year in honor of “Christ, Their Lord”? “There is nothing like Christmas in Arizona, azure skies and seventy-two degrees, to make the world look fraudulent.” (4 stars)
Well, “Blackout” is raunchy. And maybe sexist if not misogynistic with its Spring Break setting. Is this how we want to imagine another human being? Evidently, yes. (1 star)
A girl is subjected to a Mommy Binge on her thirteenth birthday in a swank NYC restaurant as I cringe through the way, way over-the-top “My Mother the Rock Star.” Once again experiencing her mother’s outrageousness, the new teenager thinks, “I start to get used to it.” (3 stars)
Two poets take an underage boy out into the desert. Poetry is the last thing on their minds in “Habits and Habitat of the Southwestern Bad Boy.” (3 stars)
Another unlikely but interesting tale. I guess they all are, aren’t they? In this one a woman grows a brainless clone that is supposed to get her out of “The Land of Pain.” It doesn’t work out. (4 stars)
The combination of science and fantasy is a common literary event. In “A Case Study of Emergency Room Procedure and Risk Management by Hospital Staff Members in the Urban Facility” a case of drug induced fantasy draws in most of the emergency room staff late one night. But who wreaked so much havoc in the waiting room? It looks as if someone drove a motorcycle through it. (5 stars)
A May December relationship can be sweet if somewhat kinky. Since this is more of a kinky book, I have to think this story leans more in that direction. “Young People Today” has the standard dig a hole and then fill it in scenario. (3 stars)
When is a relationship not a relationship? The dream of doing a “Duet” was not to be. (4 stars)
I don’t mind bumping Twin Study up from 3 2/3 to four stars. I did enjoy it that much. I like quirky quite a bit. And bizarre ain’t bad either.
March 17, 2009
I first came across Richter in Zoetrope, where two of the stories in this collection where first published. These two stories, "Twin Study" & "The Cavemen in the Hedges" turn out to be the two best pieces in the book. The other ten stories are quite good, just not as good. But there are some lovable characters in here, some truly unique plot lines, and it's all wrapped up in a well written package.
This woman knows how to kick start a short story. "There are cavemen in the hedges again," may be one of the better opening sentences I've read... hard to say ever, but certainly in recent recollection. You can't deny the desire to know where an opening line like that will take you!
Richter is also able to toss off descriptions of her characters that are at once fresh and touching:
"There was no denying the cuteness that was Velvet. She possessed the stubborn happiness that is the mark of the terrier breed, with alert, dark eyes and a pink tongue, which dangled from her mouth like a scrap of ribbon."
"He was one of those boys you just love having around the house. He was always saying "thank you" and "excuse me"--a big, tall boy with a sweet face and an entirely bald head that made my heart ache for him. It seems to me that in our day, boys didn't lose their hair at such a tender age. They did everything else earlier, went off to war or supported families, but at least their poor heads were padded with locks. Well, Andy was handsome, nevertheless, and he had one of those faces that couldn't hide a thing. Currents of wonder and hurt and satisfaction, even little eddies of deception, flowed across his face with such vividness that reading his mood was about as arduous as opening up the newspaper."
These examples showcase much of what there is to like about Richter's writing, her humor, her attention to the unusual detail, her ability to string it all together in a well rendered voice. This woman is smart and talented and has written a book that is equal parts entertaining and intelligent. Hard to go wrong with that.
This woman knows how to kick start a short story. "There are cavemen in the hedges again," may be one of the better opening sentences I've read... hard to say ever, but certainly in recent recollection. You can't deny the desire to know where an opening line like that will take you!
Richter is also able to toss off descriptions of her characters that are at once fresh and touching:
"There was no denying the cuteness that was Velvet. She possessed the stubborn happiness that is the mark of the terrier breed, with alert, dark eyes and a pink tongue, which dangled from her mouth like a scrap of ribbon."
"He was one of those boys you just love having around the house. He was always saying "thank you" and "excuse me"--a big, tall boy with a sweet face and an entirely bald head that made my heart ache for him. It seems to me that in our day, boys didn't lose their hair at such a tender age. They did everything else earlier, went off to war or supported families, but at least their poor heads were padded with locks. Well, Andy was handsome, nevertheless, and he had one of those faces that couldn't hide a thing. Currents of wonder and hurt and satisfaction, even little eddies of deception, flowed across his face with such vividness that reading his mood was about as arduous as opening up the newspaper."
These examples showcase much of what there is to like about Richter's writing, her humor, her attention to the unusual detail, her ability to string it all together in a well rendered voice. This woman is smart and talented and has written a book that is equal parts entertaining and intelligent. Hard to go wrong with that.
August 29, 2018
I first came across Richter in an undergrad English class, and was totally blown away by "The Land of Pain." This is the original collection it was published in, and the other stories mimic her character's eerie, happy-go-lucky but increasing uneasiness in the face of horribly dreary, usually domestic, circumstances. Some of them are quite weird (the one with the dog's POV gave me pause), but mostly they are a re-hashing of the same themes over and over but with slightly different roles and settings. I would tend to place Richter in the same category of "kitchen sink magical realism" authors like Karen Russell and Kelly Link; this was and is one of my favorite genres, although I feel like it reached its height in the early 2000's with stories like "The Land of Pain," which stands alone as a great work of abject metaphorical narrative, but when enmeshed in stories of similar shape and design, its original power is a bit diminished. Why this is I'm not sure -- maybe there's only so many ways of saying the same thing? Part of what I enjoy about the modern aspects of magical realism is this game of decoding the metaphors -- which can often be quite varied and perverse -- but if the analogy only serves to prop up a weak thought or idea, then this formula falls flat, a pattern I notice a lot in collections that include famous, stand-alone works.
November 1, 2013
I really liked this set of stories and grow fonder as I think about them now. The collection has the whimsy and longing of George Saunders' stories, but is also a bit more biting with its analysis of women's issues. For the latter reason, I loved it all the more. In a lot of the stories, even when the main character isn't a woman, the point of view is often related to a woman (but rarely is she a victim or object). I'm not usually abnormally drawn to stories about women (mostly because there isn't a glut of good literature with them as protagonists), but it was validating to read this collection, devoid of any romantic ennui or sob stories, and really get into multiple female voices. The stories are smart, funny, relatable, and, as any good set of short stories should, add a splash of awesome to simple scenarios.
June 25, 2007
I loved Richter's first short story collection, My Date With Satan, and this, her second, did not disappoint. Richter has an amazing ability to take strange ideas and make them seem normal, or to take seemingly normal concepts and make them strange. I loved the title story, about twins resolute in their non-inter-changeableness, and all the others have something quirky or fun or surprising to recommend them. (And then there was the one that FREAKED ME THE FUCK OUT.) I am now a full-out Stacey Richter devotee; I can't wait to see what she does next. (I wish she'd write a novel.)
August 8, 2009
I loved every story in this collection--a somewhat rare experience for me. Richter's narrators are offbeat and funny, you might even say outlandish. Unusual characters and fantastic situations rendered as if totally realistic. In any case, I believed it, and loved every minute of the telling. There's something dark in these stories, too. They're often sad at their core but its a humorous and quirky experience reading them.
September 17, 2009
B- Some of the stories were wonderful, others not as much. My faves were "Twin Study" (about two seemingly different twins…with surprises), "The Cavemen in the Hedges" (brilliant) and "The Long Haul" (about love and dysfunction).
April 5, 2012
I am not too fond of reading--long things. Maybe I watched too many cartoons during my development, but that is why I prefer to read story collections, and this book may be the funnest book of stories I've ever been told to read. I started to look over other people's reviews and was surprised to find it criticized for its strange or "wacky" narrators/protagonists. If wacky narrators is a reason not to like something I just don't understand people. The protagonist of the story "Velvet" is slightly wacky and also a terrier. We follow her along her little life's path and find that her truest desire, despite her love of cheese cubes, is to be a blood-rolling, rat-digging, throat tearing, humping wild dog, like the coyotes that try to eat her. Perhaps some readers do not appreciate the attitude of the narrator of "Christ, Their Lord," whose innate, self-proclaimed nastiness fails to melt once she moves to a subdivision called Yuletide Village in the sunbelt. A young couple drift apart as they are confronted with neighborhood pests in "The Cavemen in the Hedges." A woman and her male friend quarrel over the (physical)affections of a very dirty, very young Bad Boy in "Habits and Habitat of the Southwestern Bad Boy." "A Case Study of Emergency Room Procedure and Risk Management by Hospital Staff Members in the Urban Facility," is a fairy-tale about a Princess who had been forced to work in a meth factory.
There are other funny stories, and there is "Blackout." This is a caricature of college spring break--right? Let us pray. The 'total weirdo' narrator of this story is fortunate to be taking a Great American Authors class, so when a frat boy offers her a shot at Tequila Rudolph's during a roofy free-for-all night in Baja, she quotes Bartleby the scrivener with "I prefer not to." She instead bears witness to the fate of Sandra, the beautiful Kappa, at the hands of Hans, whom the narrator lusts after. We follow her as she and Hans escort the rag-doll Sandra back to a hotel room, where our narrator finally realizes that Hans "was not husband material, nor was he boyfriend material. He was a rapist. And I had been helping him." Maybe this story has the cartoonish elements that all of these stories share, especially in its description of the drunk and roofied students, but nothing particularly unlikely actually takes place. The story's focus is much more on the narrator's awakening to the, dare I say, cartoonishness of actual life and the world we inhabit.
There are other funny stories, and there is "Blackout." This is a caricature of college spring break--right? Let us pray. The 'total weirdo' narrator of this story is fortunate to be taking a Great American Authors class, so when a frat boy offers her a shot at Tequila Rudolph's during a roofy free-for-all night in Baja, she quotes Bartleby the scrivener with "I prefer not to." She instead bears witness to the fate of Sandra, the beautiful Kappa, at the hands of Hans, whom the narrator lusts after. We follow her as she and Hans escort the rag-doll Sandra back to a hotel room, where our narrator finally realizes that Hans "was not husband material, nor was he boyfriend material. He was a rapist. And I had been helping him." Maybe this story has the cartoonish elements that all of these stories share, especially in its description of the drunk and roofied students, but nothing particularly unlikely actually takes place. The story's focus is much more on the narrator's awakening to the, dare I say, cartoonishness of actual life and the world we inhabit.
Read
January 15, 2015A solid collection of well-written, always engaging, observant and funny stories--mostly set in Arizona. Tucson, probably.
I read Richter's first book, MY DATE WITH SATAN, with great fondness when I was MFA bound. Then, she spoke to the MFA students when I was at ASU, getting us all inspired to be writers (and I remember her seeming all hip and chic). Then, when I actually got my own novel published and did a reading in Tucson, she came to my reading and bought LOVE SLAVE (I think I sold two books that night--the other to my friend, Laura). So, yeah, Staceey Richter is pretty cool on my scale.
The strongest stories in the collection are, maybe, "Velvet' and "The Cavemen in the Hedges," but there are these great moments in other stories, too, like "My Mother the Rock Star" and "Duet."
Actually, the book made me nostalgic for all the cool parts of Tucson.
I read Richter's first book, MY DATE WITH SATAN, with great fondness when I was MFA bound. Then, she spoke to the MFA students when I was at ASU, getting us all inspired to be writers (and I remember her seeming all hip and chic). Then, when I actually got my own novel published and did a reading in Tucson, she came to my reading and bought LOVE SLAVE (I think I sold two books that night--the other to my friend, Laura). So, yeah, Staceey Richter is pretty cool on my scale.
The strongest stories in the collection are, maybe, "Velvet' and "The Cavemen in the Hedges," but there are these great moments in other stories, too, like "My Mother the Rock Star" and "Duet."
Actually, the book made me nostalgic for all the cool parts of Tucson.
June 12, 2008
Like the stories of George Saunders, these pieces made me laugh while forcing me to contemplate my own intellectual hubris. The stories go down easy, with only an occasional shard of glass to stick in the throat. The stories are populated by cavemen (already explored by Saunders), potsmoking Asberger's-syndrome "Bat Boys," thirtysomethings adrift in a southwestern landscape populated by deadbeat dads and wino moms, twins who switch identities as easily as they switch clothing, and the sad, chubby children of punk rock stars. Any author who uses "jaunty"--one of my favorite words--in two separate stories has my vote for up-and-comer!
July 27, 2008
I picked up this collection after reading Richter's story in Tin House: Fantastic Women. Not every story here was "genre-bending," but that didn't matter. I loved the writing all the same, particularly the diaglogue. I read it, cover to cover, in a week--which is lightspeed for me (when I'm not reading flash fiction). This collection gets a five, though, because the connecting thread between the stories was so clear: Women on the cusp of transition, some opting to change direction while others don't; where either choice makes some happy, and others not so much.
July 4, 2016
The range of stories both in content and tone is admirable. They are mostly in first person but each one has a unique voice. Definitely a writer to watch and this first collection is worth a second read.
On the second reading, the author's desire to be funny, to please, to impress came through. And she achieves her goal. The writing was funny and impressive. However, in the last story "Duet" she lets go of some of the pyrotechnics and reaches a poignancy that I missed in some of the other stories.
I definitely look forward to more from this writer. She is talented and this collection should have received more recognition than it did.
On the second reading, the author's desire to be funny, to please, to impress came through. And she achieves her goal. The writing was funny and impressive. However, in the last story "Duet" she lets go of some of the pyrotechnics and reaches a poignancy that I missed in some of the other stories.
I definitely look forward to more from this writer. She is talented and this collection should have received more recognition than it did.
October 17, 2008
I've never heard of this before....just picked it up off a shelf during a book-buying spree.
Now it's my new purse book (7/31/08)
10/17/08 - Really enjoyed this quirky, imaginative stories from Richter. The book started out incredibly strong with the wonderful "Twin Study" and "Velvet" (perfect for anyone who has ever wondered how his or her dog thinks). Some of the others were a bit uneven, but even those were usually fun. If you enjoy short stories in the Alice Munro/Ellen Gilchrist mode, give this a try.
Now it's my new purse book (7/31/08)
10/17/08 - Really enjoyed this quirky, imaginative stories from Richter. The book started out incredibly strong with the wonderful "Twin Study" and "Velvet" (perfect for anyone who has ever wondered how his or her dog thinks). Some of the others were a bit uneven, but even those were usually fun. If you enjoy short stories in the Alice Munro/Ellen Gilchrist mode, give this a try.
November 21, 2015
There are some really, really funny stories here. Richter's characters deal with painful and embarrassing situations in endearing and surprising ways. I'm having a blast with "The Long Haul", "Christ, Their Lord", "My Mother the Rock Star" (I can see a Coen Bros adaptation), and "The Land of Pain". And how can I resist a title like "Habits and Habitat of the Southwestern Bad Boy"? Or "Young People Today"? They're much more than the great titles too.
Even the stories that don't quite work for me are quite charming and engaging.
Even the stories that don't quite work for me are quite charming and engaging.
September 10, 2007
This was a really phenomenal short story collection; I was lukewarm on maybe 3 of the stories, hence the 4 star rating, but otherwise was absolutely captivated. Richter has a way of imagining these really bizarre premises for her stories, but inhabiting them so completely and with such confidence that I didn't question the plausibility, but was instead fully invested in the ride. And she's very talented at turning a phrase. Highly recommended.
July 15, 2009
Aaaah! How am I going to live without any more short stories by Stacey Richter? Amazing, enlightened, awe-inspiring, deceptively simple. Richter makes characters "relate-able", whether they are a sex-crazed caveman lover, a doleful daughter of a rock star, a young woman strung out on meth, or a sheltered cello player. She is, quite simply, a genius, and she had better not take another ten years to publish a book, or I might freak out!
May 20, 2009
If I were independently wealthy I would buy hundreds of copies of Stacey Richter’s short story collection Twin Study so that I could pass them out to people who claim to not like short stories or not to read them.
“Here,” I would say. “Read this and then tell me how you don’t like short stories.” I am convinced this collection would win them over.
Read the rest on MN Reads.
“Here,” I would say. “Read this and then tell me how you don’t like short stories.” I am convinced this collection would win them over.
Read the rest on MN Reads.
August 19, 2010
These characters are so well drawn and interesting. Richter is spot-on in their development and voice and action. The stories' resolutions are generally satisfying and right. The collection contains "traditional" stories, some magical realism/borderline sci fi, and an epistolary story, too.
Plus, readers are guaranteed to LOL, as the kids say.
Plus, readers are guaranteed to LOL, as the kids say.
March 28, 2016
Is it me or does this book seems kind of sad in some way. I like the stories but some of them are dark. The author has some great imagination doing this stories! It clearly shows the ugly truths of life. Truths that the society doesn't want to accept but everybody knows. Among all of the stories, my favorite is the last one, Duet. It just seem different from the other ones.
October 23, 2007
What a pleasant surprise to find a gem of an unknown author at the library! This book of short stories is amazing. Some of the stories are astonishing; some are just excellent; most are quirky and funny. I look forward to "My date with Satan." (the name of her other book!)
July 1, 2012
This was a really odd book, very out of my comfort zone, but it made me think and that was good. I think it would be great for a book club or a middle/high school lit class to discuss the short stories. They are very out there, very unconventional.
November 27, 2014
This is a really freaking excellent collection. I read it in a short amount of time, because Richter's writing is so seamless and interesting. Her characters struggle with identity and loneliness, yet aren't at all pathetic. Now, I have to read everything else she's written.
December 23, 2014
I enjoyed the characters and scenarios created in this book -- mostly the caveman story and the Christmas decorations story-- but don't think I'd go out of my way to recommend it.
Though if you like short stories more than I do, you might enjoy it more.
Though if you like short stories more than I do, you might enjoy it more.
March 12, 2016
Great collection of short stories -- really like the honest and often abrasive look at American life especially from the perspective of a child/teen. Every story brings up prickly questions about our own life and the lives of those around us.
February 23, 2008
I really liked the first story (about twins) but all the others were just ok ...
March 10, 2008
Again, I'm just not a fan of short stories. I thought this collection might break the mold for me, but unfortunately, alas, I was wrong.
June 21, 2022
A refreshing change
December 28, 2023
Some excellent stories, some nonstarters, and a couple of masterpieces likely to stand the test of time. That’s my assessment of Twin Study, and it’s honestly the most one can hope for from any single author anthology. Except among the most protean and varied of writers, one voice over the long haul starts to become grating, no matter how good or fresh it is.
Standouts include Velvet and Caveman in the Hedges. Velvet takes the mandate of “a dog’s life” literally and gives us the story of a tiny coddled toy who dreams of running with the coyotes. When his dream comes true, we feel his peril and rejoice at his triumphs. This thing could have easily become maudlin, sappy, worthy of a Hallmark movie in almost any other hands. I guess the only conclusion to draw is that author Stacey Richter’s hands are preternaturally deft and gifted. Alas, like most writers who can write worth a darn, she is not prolific. At least when it comes to publishing, so maybe she’s got a vault in the wall like Prince or a safe in the floor like Salinger reputedly had?
Also worthy of mention is The Cavemen in the Hedges. It’s not my favorite tale but is the most impressive in a technical sense, demonstrating Richter’s range as regards both plot and voice. This “serious” “literary” MFA-style writing usually concerns itself with the mundane details of daily life, mostly among semi-affluent, overeducated suburbanites. Topics such as divorce, alcoholism, impotence, and matrimonial strife typically rule the day. As an impotent alcoholic (though one who’s never been married) I can relate, but “quiet desperation” is not really my métier.
We get that here, but there’s the added surreal detail of a convoy of cavemen inserting themselves into the burbs. That Richter is able to keep a straight face and give us the facts of this primordial invasion has a touch of the genuinely magical realist about it. I went in expecting Cheever and Carver, and instead got Borges. Also, unlike most writers, she shows a faculty for “head-hopping” and writing from the perspective of the opposite sex. Women succeed in writing from the male perspective more often than the inverse, but still they mostly fail. Richter succeeds here, in giving us a tale of sexual jealousy and emotional loss caused by the arrival of a troglodytic lothario. Turns out no modern male can compete with the primal attraction of a man capable of felling a mastodon with a bone-made spear, no matter how “alpha.”
Ritcher (or whoever sequenced the stories) saves the best for last. It would seem obvious but you’d be surprised at how often editors hose this part of the fight, what boxers call “championship rounds,” here an anthology’s most pivotal moment. “Duet” concerns one of the most cliched characters in the stock sad sack repertoire: the parent-pleasing, socially sheltered Asian child prodigy cellist. That Richter manages to breathe not just some pneuma into this usually inanimate clay, but makes the stiff figure dance is worthy of something more than praise. Maybe awe. It’s good, like Ivan Bunin good in terms of its beauty, insight, and pacing, and despite its modern setting it reads more like a fairytale or parable about friendship.
Director Martin Scorsese once said words to the effect that a good artist’s job was to make you care about their obsessions. If a writer can make you become invested in a subject which you find tedious, they’re doing something right. I personally love classical music but hate the culture around it, the way it’s become a status symbol for careerist “tiger moms” and another bourgeoise trophy for the case. So making me care about the songs would have been easy, as even the most philistinian of us can hum a few bars of Bach or Mozart. Making me care about the people who play the songs—and even more, understand them—is quite a feat.
What was it Bukowski said about the time he snuck into the concert hall to hear the symphony performing? “I liked the music but I didn’t like the people listening to it or the people playing it.” Something like that. Here I like it all, which I never did before.
Having thus far gushed so effusively, I should point out that Richter is better at third person than first. Her own voice has its own distinct cadence and rhythms, but it has an omniscience about it, a Zola-like distance that finds the emotion rather than being possessed by it. That works when watching someone, but less when being—or trying to be—them. If she were an actor, she’d be the kind whose personal traits and tics are incorporated in the character, rather than being subsumed by them. Think more like a classical talent like Bogart than a method madman like De Niro who genuinely disappears into the role.
Also a couple stories felt overly familiar, like exercises done by an exceptionally gifted young student who had the knack, but not yet the proper material. “The Long Hall,” for instance, while well-written, is the kind of angsty teen story that’s been written too many times before for it to matter again.
Still, all in all, very good, and I’ll definitely check out Richter’s other book of shorts, My Date with Satan.
Standouts include Velvet and Caveman in the Hedges. Velvet takes the mandate of “a dog’s life” literally and gives us the story of a tiny coddled toy who dreams of running with the coyotes. When his dream comes true, we feel his peril and rejoice at his triumphs. This thing could have easily become maudlin, sappy, worthy of a Hallmark movie in almost any other hands. I guess the only conclusion to draw is that author Stacey Richter’s hands are preternaturally deft and gifted. Alas, like most writers who can write worth a darn, she is not prolific. At least when it comes to publishing, so maybe she’s got a vault in the wall like Prince or a safe in the floor like Salinger reputedly had?
Also worthy of mention is The Cavemen in the Hedges. It’s not my favorite tale but is the most impressive in a technical sense, demonstrating Richter’s range as regards both plot and voice. This “serious” “literary” MFA-style writing usually concerns itself with the mundane details of daily life, mostly among semi-affluent, overeducated suburbanites. Topics such as divorce, alcoholism, impotence, and matrimonial strife typically rule the day. As an impotent alcoholic (though one who’s never been married) I can relate, but “quiet desperation” is not really my métier.
We get that here, but there’s the added surreal detail of a convoy of cavemen inserting themselves into the burbs. That Richter is able to keep a straight face and give us the facts of this primordial invasion has a touch of the genuinely magical realist about it. I went in expecting Cheever and Carver, and instead got Borges. Also, unlike most writers, she shows a faculty for “head-hopping” and writing from the perspective of the opposite sex. Women succeed in writing from the male perspective more often than the inverse, but still they mostly fail. Richter succeeds here, in giving us a tale of sexual jealousy and emotional loss caused by the arrival of a troglodytic lothario. Turns out no modern male can compete with the primal attraction of a man capable of felling a mastodon with a bone-made spear, no matter how “alpha.”
Ritcher (or whoever sequenced the stories) saves the best for last. It would seem obvious but you’d be surprised at how often editors hose this part of the fight, what boxers call “championship rounds,” here an anthology’s most pivotal moment. “Duet” concerns one of the most cliched characters in the stock sad sack repertoire: the parent-pleasing, socially sheltered Asian child prodigy cellist. That Richter manages to breathe not just some pneuma into this usually inanimate clay, but makes the stiff figure dance is worthy of something more than praise. Maybe awe. It’s good, like Ivan Bunin good in terms of its beauty, insight, and pacing, and despite its modern setting it reads more like a fairytale or parable about friendship.
Director Martin Scorsese once said words to the effect that a good artist’s job was to make you care about their obsessions. If a writer can make you become invested in a subject which you find tedious, they’re doing something right. I personally love classical music but hate the culture around it, the way it’s become a status symbol for careerist “tiger moms” and another bourgeoise trophy for the case. So making me care about the songs would have been easy, as even the most philistinian of us can hum a few bars of Bach or Mozart. Making me care about the people who play the songs—and even more, understand them—is quite a feat.
What was it Bukowski said about the time he snuck into the concert hall to hear the symphony performing? “I liked the music but I didn’t like the people listening to it or the people playing it.” Something like that. Here I like it all, which I never did before.
Having thus far gushed so effusively, I should point out that Richter is better at third person than first. Her own voice has its own distinct cadence and rhythms, but it has an omniscience about it, a Zola-like distance that finds the emotion rather than being possessed by it. That works when watching someone, but less when being—or trying to be—them. If she were an actor, she’d be the kind whose personal traits and tics are incorporated in the character, rather than being subsumed by them. Think more like a classical talent like Bogart than a method madman like De Niro who genuinely disappears into the role.
Also a couple stories felt overly familiar, like exercises done by an exceptionally gifted young student who had the knack, but not yet the proper material. “The Long Hall,” for instance, while well-written, is the kind of angsty teen story that’s been written too many times before for it to matter again.
Still, all in all, very good, and I’ll definitely check out Richter’s other book of shorts, My Date with Satan.
September 6, 2020
There are some stories in this collection I liked a lot ("The Cavemen in the Hedges," "Christ, Their Lord" and "The Land of Pain"), but many others reminded me too much of reading TC Boyle, or watching a Tim Burton movie, in that the stories set out clear premises or conceits and act on them in a very clear way with competent writing and a strong sense of story arc, but ultimately those premises feel functional rather than artful, a mere proposition for a story rather than a story in and of itself. When I talk about story here, I am talking about a challenge of our own humanity, a sense of person that may be difficult to swallow at first but ultimately acts on a way that is almost embarrassingly familiar. In "The Caveman in the Hedges," for example, a town with a caveman problem, of short Neanderthals tearing up their flower gardens and the like, challenge the narrator's own relationship, bringing up an ugliness that their subsequent disappearance lets the couple quash once again. This story sings nicely with the idea of how a problem is only considered as one because it makes us see other problems.
But as counterpoint, take the titular story of this collection, of a twin involved in a multi-year-spanning twin study that brings twins to a hotel on a regular basis to collect data. The narrator and her twin are very different from each other outside of their physical resemblance, but as the story continues, the 'bad' twin, of course, starts to show signs of having an existence the narrator ultimately desires. The ending becomes quite predictable, acting on the elements of plot rather than stinging us with human recognition. Thus, the majority of this collection came across to me as functional and competent, but outside of the stories listed at the onset, I found myself bland in my reaction to them.
But as counterpoint, take the titular story of this collection, of a twin involved in a multi-year-spanning twin study that brings twins to a hotel on a regular basis to collect data. The narrator and her twin are very different from each other outside of their physical resemblance, but as the story continues, the 'bad' twin, of course, starts to show signs of having an existence the narrator ultimately desires. The ending becomes quite predictable, acting on the elements of plot rather than stinging us with human recognition. Thus, the majority of this collection came across to me as functional and competent, but outside of the stories listed at the onset, I found myself bland in my reaction to them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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