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Being Normal
A confident, poignant collection filtered with debauchery, melancholy and black humour, Being Normal is an examination of loneliness, rejection and the idiosyncrasies of living in and against contemporary society. Stephen Shieber brings together the glory of everyday nothingness and elevates it to great drama; where loveless marriage, teen angst, childhood misadventure, lonely Christmases and family dysfunction are the norm. Each character in this stunning debut provides a very different slant on the notion of mundane - a book for anyone who has ever found themselves on the outside, dancing to the beat of their own drum.
- GenresShort Stories
175 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2008
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 20, 2025
Quite a sad, emotional collection of short stories, that makes you wonder just what being normal is these days. These highlight the darker side of life where there is no happy ending, where relationships fail, and people are resigned to their lot. Although I can’t say I enjoyed the book due to the nature of the stories, I can appreciate the fact that they were well written and touch on sensitive subjects, hence the 4 ⭐️
May 23, 2015
Book review
‘Being Normal’ by Stephen Shieber
Published by Tonto Books – ISBN 978-0-955-6326-2-4
175 Pages - £7.99
‘Being Normal’ is a collection of short stories, written by Stephen Shieber, which focuses on the minutiae of life, rather than the big dramas.
It looks at life from a number of different perspectives, with each of the 14 stories shedding lives on a group of disparate characters, often finding themselves in situations that are far from being ideal.
‘Being Normal’ follows a young man, who self-harms to take his mind away from helping his Dad on his building job, the Saturday girl at the local chemist, from whom he buys his razors, that uses on his arms, rather than on his beard, and the understanding that he develops with the record shop owner of the place where he works.
‘The Good little wife’ follows the marriage of Kate and Andrew, and how she is cooking the meal that will ensure he gets the promotion her really needs. He does not know about the railway ticket she has bought to escape her abusive husband, or how she rips it up at the end because she knows she cannot escape. This is probably the bleakest story in the book, for it offer no happy ending, no resolution, just more of the same.
‘Sunday lunch’ looks at the predicament posed by a man who wants to propose to his male lover, but who is stopped by the feelings of his family.
‘The naming of Gods’ looks at the effect that the arrival of a number of foreign exchange students has on the class at a boarding school, ‘The Gift’ looks at a religious caller and her interaction with an initially hostile man on Christmas Eve, but ends with him giving serious thought to phoning his Mother for the first time in years. Other stories within the collection look at a family secret kept after death, being revealed to a sceptical family member at a public display of clairvoyance, while ‘Business Trip’ looks at the unveiling of infidelity in a number of little details.
There is pathos in ‘Happy Birthday Son’ which sees a Mother painstakingly making a cake for her Son’s Birthday, only to leave it at his graveside, whilst another son dies in the book’s final story ‘Don’t try this at Home’ which sees him escaping a confusing domestic situation, to be Robin to his hero, Batman, in a world where he does not have to make choices about who he decides to live with.
There is pathos, and humanity in many of these stories, but it is cut through with wit, and humour, that help to power the stories along. None of the fourteen tales outstay their welcome, but a lot of detail, and character is packed into each one. The art of the short story, and the rewards for the writers of the form are said to be in ever increasing short supply, but in the hands of writers like Shieber, and in the investment of smaller publishers, like Tonto, and Route, the form does still have some strong support.
‘Being Normal’ by Stephen Shieber
Published by Tonto Books – ISBN 978-0-955-6326-2-4
175 Pages - £7.99
‘Being Normal’ is a collection of short stories, written by Stephen Shieber, which focuses on the minutiae of life, rather than the big dramas.
It looks at life from a number of different perspectives, with each of the 14 stories shedding lives on a group of disparate characters, often finding themselves in situations that are far from being ideal.
‘Being Normal’ follows a young man, who self-harms to take his mind away from helping his Dad on his building job, the Saturday girl at the local chemist, from whom he buys his razors, that uses on his arms, rather than on his beard, and the understanding that he develops with the record shop owner of the place where he works.
‘The Good little wife’ follows the marriage of Kate and Andrew, and how she is cooking the meal that will ensure he gets the promotion her really needs. He does not know about the railway ticket she has bought to escape her abusive husband, or how she rips it up at the end because she knows she cannot escape. This is probably the bleakest story in the book, for it offer no happy ending, no resolution, just more of the same.
‘Sunday lunch’ looks at the predicament posed by a man who wants to propose to his male lover, but who is stopped by the feelings of his family.
‘The naming of Gods’ looks at the effect that the arrival of a number of foreign exchange students has on the class at a boarding school, ‘The Gift’ looks at a religious caller and her interaction with an initially hostile man on Christmas Eve, but ends with him giving serious thought to phoning his Mother for the first time in years. Other stories within the collection look at a family secret kept after death, being revealed to a sceptical family member at a public display of clairvoyance, while ‘Business Trip’ looks at the unveiling of infidelity in a number of little details.
There is pathos in ‘Happy Birthday Son’ which sees a Mother painstakingly making a cake for her Son’s Birthday, only to leave it at his graveside, whilst another son dies in the book’s final story ‘Don’t try this at Home’ which sees him escaping a confusing domestic situation, to be Robin to his hero, Batman, in a world where he does not have to make choices about who he decides to live with.
There is pathos, and humanity in many of these stories, but it is cut through with wit, and humour, that help to power the stories along. None of the fourteen tales outstay their welcome, but a lot of detail, and character is packed into each one. The art of the short story, and the rewards for the writers of the form are said to be in ever increasing short supply, but in the hands of writers like Shieber, and in the investment of smaller publishers, like Tonto, and Route, the form does still have some strong support.
February 4, 2009
What is normal?
I remember pondering this question when, in my younger days, I spent a great deal of time trying to fit in with the norm. I grew up in safe, predictable, white bread suburbia and it turned out that I was anything but normal.
Still, I tried to ignore my nonconformity to the social norms around me and continued to try and fit it, to try and assimilate myself into the society around me which constantly reminded me that I would never fit in, I would never be normal.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized what being normal meant. It meant being myself, regardless of what others thought of me. It meant being myself, despite an unyielding urge to confine myself to social expectations. It meant that, despite those who told me otherwise, I was normal. Something I still struggle with today.
Which is probably why Being Normal, the debut collection of short stories by Stephen Shieber, struck such a powerful, personal chord with me.
Being Normal consists of fourteen different stories that touch on issues all of us have faced at certain points in our life: Love, lust, sex, acceptance, families, friendship, companionship, the need to fit in, the need to belong.
It also touches on the darker issues of life and doesn’t shy away from subjects such as cutting, self harm, homosexuality, abuse, religion. That it doesn’t shy away from any of these issues, but yet confronts them head on is testament to Shieber’s power as a writer.
Though the stories seem simple, that is their power. They are like short pieces of a persons life, as if we are being granted access to private memories and events. At first, this is all they seem like, simple, quirky stories.
But they are more than that.
They are individual works of such beauty, such power, that they will haunt you for days after you have finished reading them. I found myself being reminded of events from my own childhood, from my own past. Events that made me who I am today.
Though the stories are all separate, I felt as if I was looking into a small neighbourhood of people who were trying to find themselves. Though unconnected, I felt as if I were amongst people who knew each other and they were all trying to find themselves in the world.
And I was one of them.
It is hard to believe that this is Shieber’s first collection of stories. He writes with strength and style that is missing from many writers today. He is also responsible for the rejuvenation of the short story. After reading the stories in Being Normal, I want to read more, experience more. He has made the mundane, the normal, amazing.
That is essentially the power of the stories in Being Normal. You don’t read them so much as you experience them. One beautiful word at a time.
Being Normal is one of the best books that I have read in years and one that I know I will revisit again and again.
I remember pondering this question when, in my younger days, I spent a great deal of time trying to fit in with the norm. I grew up in safe, predictable, white bread suburbia and it turned out that I was anything but normal.
Still, I tried to ignore my nonconformity to the social norms around me and continued to try and fit it, to try and assimilate myself into the society around me which constantly reminded me that I would never fit in, I would never be normal.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized what being normal meant. It meant being myself, regardless of what others thought of me. It meant being myself, despite an unyielding urge to confine myself to social expectations. It meant that, despite those who told me otherwise, I was normal. Something I still struggle with today.
Which is probably why Being Normal, the debut collection of short stories by Stephen Shieber, struck such a powerful, personal chord with me.
Being Normal consists of fourteen different stories that touch on issues all of us have faced at certain points in our life: Love, lust, sex, acceptance, families, friendship, companionship, the need to fit in, the need to belong.
It also touches on the darker issues of life and doesn’t shy away from subjects such as cutting, self harm, homosexuality, abuse, religion. That it doesn’t shy away from any of these issues, but yet confronts them head on is testament to Shieber’s power as a writer.
Though the stories seem simple, that is their power. They are like short pieces of a persons life, as if we are being granted access to private memories and events. At first, this is all they seem like, simple, quirky stories.
But they are more than that.
They are individual works of such beauty, such power, that they will haunt you for days after you have finished reading them. I found myself being reminded of events from my own childhood, from my own past. Events that made me who I am today.
Though the stories are all separate, I felt as if I was looking into a small neighbourhood of people who were trying to find themselves. Though unconnected, I felt as if I were amongst people who knew each other and they were all trying to find themselves in the world.
And I was one of them.
It is hard to believe that this is Shieber’s first collection of stories. He writes with strength and style that is missing from many writers today. He is also responsible for the rejuvenation of the short story. After reading the stories in Being Normal, I want to read more, experience more. He has made the mundane, the normal, amazing.
That is essentially the power of the stories in Being Normal. You don’t read them so much as you experience them. One beautiful word at a time.
Being Normal is one of the best books that I have read in years and one that I know I will revisit again and again.
January 30, 2009
I've finished reading Being Normal by Stephen Shieber...
When I write finished I should clarify that I started it late one night, forced myself to put it down and get some sleep (and to not pick it up in the morning before work), then finished it on the train to London the very next evening.
I may have had the self restraint to not read it before work but I did talk about it at work and I have to confess that I also emailed several people about it before and during work...I blame Stephen!
This book should come with a warning label on the front cover, 'ADDICTIVE STORIES BARELY CONTAINED INSIDE' .
Stephen writes in a unique voice, one that resonates inside me, quickly convincing me that he KNOWS of what he writes. His skill is obvious in this regard as these stories are written in the first person with male, female and teenage voices. How is it possible to have such a flexible writing stream?
Being Normal is a wonderful book about, well, being normal. It contains all the beauty and ugliness that is part of everyday life, that which we witness happening, which makes us 'tut and tsk' when we see it reported in the media and that which we experience firsthand.
Being Normal sharply lays bare all that which is hidden, grabs you by the shirt collar and holds you captivated long enough for you to have an opportunity to really look at that person that you were so quick to dismiss in the past.
Being Normal offers a safe haven within which you may develop an understanding that there is a plausible reason for the behaviour of others that you may have found disturbing or even that there is an ulterior motive behind the behaviours you may have previously admired.
With his debut novel Stephen has joined the ranks of seriously talented short story writers and I am hoping that he succumbs to an urge to write more books in his distinctive voice.
When I write finished I should clarify that I started it late one night, forced myself to put it down and get some sleep (and to not pick it up in the morning before work), then finished it on the train to London the very next evening.
I may have had the self restraint to not read it before work but I did talk about it at work and I have to confess that I also emailed several people about it before and during work...I blame Stephen!
This book should come with a warning label on the front cover, 'ADDICTIVE STORIES BARELY CONTAINED INSIDE' .
Stephen writes in a unique voice, one that resonates inside me, quickly convincing me that he KNOWS of what he writes. His skill is obvious in this regard as these stories are written in the first person with male, female and teenage voices. How is it possible to have such a flexible writing stream?
Being Normal is a wonderful book about, well, being normal. It contains all the beauty and ugliness that is part of everyday life, that which we witness happening, which makes us 'tut and tsk' when we see it reported in the media and that which we experience firsthand.
Being Normal sharply lays bare all that which is hidden, grabs you by the shirt collar and holds you captivated long enough for you to have an opportunity to really look at that person that you were so quick to dismiss in the past.
Being Normal offers a safe haven within which you may develop an understanding that there is a plausible reason for the behaviour of others that you may have found disturbing or even that there is an ulterior motive behind the behaviours you may have previously admired.
With his debut novel Stephen has joined the ranks of seriously talented short story writers and I am hoping that he succumbs to an urge to write more books in his distinctive voice.
July 14, 2010
I devoured this book and read it almost continuously. I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but I would definitely make an exception for this. Being Normal is a great collection of stories that really bring it's characters to life and that really makes an impact. Some of the storylines are pretty intense and Shieber seems to write about subjects regarding issues such as self harm and mental health with ease. The book feels very direct and personal and it is clear that nothing is being held back. The stories certainly make an impact and allow you to think about society and all of the people who contribute to it. A great collection of stories.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews