Who I Was Supposed to Be

by Susan Perabo

Behind every face in Who I Was Supposed to Be, is a singular quirk to explore, a peculiarity to celebrate. In Susan Perabo's world, nothing can be taken for here, a retired grocer takes up jewel theft in his twilight years; a data processor squanders her inheritance on one of Princess Diana's gowns; a mugging victim feigns amnesia to win back his wife. In the tradition of Lorrie Moore, Susan Perabo's slightly off-center lens looks hard at the banal and the bizarre, and at the human condition, where she finds extraordinary magic within the smallest of gestures. Sharply written and overlaid with a mischievous wit, Who I Was Supposed to Be is an unforgettable homage to laughter, love, and wonder.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literature

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 1999

About the author

Susan Perabo is the author of two novels, "The Fall of Lisa Bellow" and "The Broken Places," and two collections of short stories, "Why They Run the Way They Do" and "Who I Was Supposed to Be." Her fiction has been anthologized in "Best American Short Stories," "Pushcart Prize Stories," and "New Stories from the South," and has appeared in numerous magazines, including One Story, Glimmer Train, Story, The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, and The Sun. She is Writer in Residence and Professor of Creative Writing at Dickinson College and on the faculty of the Queens University low-residency MFA program.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Susan Perabo's Collection of short stories called
"Why They Run The Way They Do"....

I knew I wanted to read more by Susan. In every story I felt there was something I could relate to - Her characters feel real -- and even in the most bizarre situations- there is authenticity in her storytelling. I simply love her writing. She writes with heart. I feel it and love it!!!!

So.....while anxiously waiting to read Susan's novel "The Fall of Lisa Bellow", due out next year....

I purchased another collection of short stories by Susan Perabo

There are 11 short stories in "Who I Was Suppose to Be". They're GREAT! Damn... I'll read 'anything' by Susan. I'm definitely a fan of her!!!

The first story:
"Thick As Thieves"... A 59 year old Hollywood actor is beginning to feel like a failure in love and fame. His wife was also an actress - his 4th wife- but after three years - "l suspected that she and I might never sleep in the same bed again".
When his wife needs to go to Paris to do a TV movie, Jack decides to invite his father who lives in Maine to come for a visit. He thinks he is not been a very good son to his dad---and his mother died years ago when he was only nine. He offers to pay the plane fare for his father. His dad accepts. One can see, that Jack is hoping to impress his father with his success and huge mansion ....Jack was also hoping to seek advice from his father about 'marriage' and a happy - working relationship. Listen for wisdom....
However -- he ( and we, the readers), are in for a surprise ... his dad is a 'thief' in his own house. His dad owns up to his 'hobby'. He says..."The purest thrill you'd ever know, Jack".
Jack is beside himself wanting to know why his dad steals...
"I'm retired", he said smiling. "I have nothing else to do".
The dialogue gets funnier and funnier--strange and stranger. BUT... don't think I'm 'giving' you the rest of the story...READ THIS BOOK - ITS TERRIFIC....
10 more short stories equally as great as this one.

Many of the stories are about husbands and wives. In one case the wife gets an inheritance after her mother dies. She and her husband have different ideas of what is the best way to spend HER money ....( you're in for surprise fun)

One mother spends $35,000 on lottery tickets in nine months! Who does that? lol
Want to know what happens? READ THE STORY!

One child -a son watches his father get beat up -

A story called "Retirement" is hilarious

There's a sad story about an accidental death - in part a coming of age story - which will have you thinking long after the story ends.

And the story that really pulled at my heartstrings is called:
"Explaining Death To The Dog"

ANYONE who enjoys short stories will be more than satisfied to choose this book!
Her stories are dark & light, moving & funny, quirky characters & profound characters.
There is tenderness- many aspects of love, loss, regret, and hope.

Incredible depth....beautiful written stories!!! I look forward to more writing by Susan Perabo!!!

[Amy Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short stories here bring human nature smack dab into your living room with you. A book to pull off the shelf and enjoy many times over!

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the 10 stories in this book most are about husbands and wives, parents and children and about the discoveries we make about our loved ones secrets and what effect those discovories have on ourselves. The themes are varied and interesting and all of the stories come with a touch of sadness. There's not a bad one in the lot.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good short story collection. The prose isn’t dazzling, but the scenarios are relatable. People adrift, wanting somehow to shake off the sameness of their disappointing lives. Reminiscent of the Talking Heads song “Once in a Lifetime” — How did I get here?

Two of the stories feature elderly parents misbehaving. One becomes a jewel thief, one becomes a lottery gambler, blowing $400 a week on Powerball tickets. They just want to hope for something. They want to feel alive in the time they have left.

[Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these short stories. In all the collections I've read, this is the best one. Most of these are told from a first-person narrator, and they are deep and good. Sometimes they are funny. You really get a sense of knowing these people. I want to write short stories like these. That's all I have to say about the book, so I'll talk to you later.

[Sam Portelance · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and often unsettling collection of stories, varying widely in tone and subject matter. None of them, even the titular story, have anything to do with the cover, but I still find it weirdly endearing. Perabo is excellent at capturing internal lives with only a few details and her characters all feel well lived in.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a quick read because it had many different short stories reflecting on difficult relationships/ etc. Some of them were a little stretched and were too much of a stretch to be interesting/ engaging. i.e. how to teach a dog about death.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story collections are always up and down. This had more good ones and no really bad ones.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Perabo is an underrated gem. If you liked this, try her newer collection and/or Bonnie Jo Campbell's short stories.

[Colin Bruce Anthes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific intimate tales.

[R.L. Maizes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great collection by Ms. Perabo. Quirky, moving. One of the stories is written from the point of view of Alfred, Batman’s butler. It’s a fantastic story, as are the others.

[Doriana Bisegna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read short stories but this collection had me chuckling throughout! Extremely funny and each story zeroes in on the quirky ways of us humans. They were a true surprise and delight!

[Perri · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded to 4. "Why They Run the Way They Do: Stories" is a better Perabo short stories collection, IMO.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Explaining Death to the Dog
By Susan Perabo

[Jake Cookston · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually a really good read! got me back into enjoying short stories. ALFRED WOULDNT DO THAT THOUGH! ok love you good job

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I picked up Perabo's work is because she spoke at my school, but damn am I glad I did. I'm not often interested in realistic fiction, but Perabo is fantastic at telling a story. Her writing fits me and what I want out of sentences. Her pacing is fantastic, her characters are interesting, and her stories are deeply emotional. She expertly balances it all--plot, character, setting, meaning. Her stories are very human. I'm really grateful I had the opportunity to talk with her.

[Melissa Railey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of Susan Perabo before my friend bought this book (although I do imagine her as looking something like Piper Perabo). My friend bought this book at a bookstore while we were out. Of course, the first thing that happened when we got back to the car was I had to go through all her books and see what she bought. This one jumped out at me. Maybe it was the cute little dog sitting in the car. I don't know. I started reading the first short story in the collection, "Thick as Thieves" and was hooked. I ended up taking the book home and reading it first. I found this collection of stories to be very moving and relevant to me (even the very odd and slightly off-kilter stories). Perabo's writing drew me in and kept me reading. I would finish one story and move directly to the next. I just really enjoyed these stories and found them to be gems every one. I need my own copy of this book!

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have rarely found a short story, let alone a collection of short stories, that I understood or appreciated. But Susan Perabo has several stories that have stuck in my head for years. She reminds me a bit of Ann Tyler; her characters are quirky but real. I may have like her stories because most have an actual beginning, middle, and end, but even those that are more characters sketch are strangely compelling.
This was a book that I picked up just to have something to occupy me from one train stop to the next, but more than once I missed my stop!

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avg rating of 4.25 for all stories

Favorite story: "Some Say the World" and "Gravity"

In this collection, each story was very different, but felt mundane and ordinary so that everything that happened to the characters was hard to swallow because it could happen to anyone. These stories (especially my favorite two) are "devastating" in a way that accepts the disappointments of life when things turn out differently than they do in fantasy stories. I really really enjoyed 99% of these, even if it took me a month to read the entire 187 pages.

[Gabby Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only recently discovered Susan Perabo after reading a short story of hers called Michael The Armadillo (I think) in the Sun magazine and thought it was such a perfect story. It was funny and heart breakingly sad at the same time and you found yourself sympathising with both the husband and wife characters. I was over the moon to discover that not only had she written a book but a collection of short stories (I love short stories and it's hard to find good collections.)

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these stories. In a way, the characters seem outside of reality, too outrageous in some way. Yet there is something about the way these stories are constructed -- something about the way in which Perabo allows the reader to catch a glimpse of such private moments -- that makes the reader begin to think that maybe everyone is a little crazy...that maybe these characters aren't so outrageous after all.

[Edward Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Perabo has an uncanny ability to jump into anybody's skin and breathe life into it as if it were her own. This collection of short stories is about people from all walks of life dealing with every human condition. No one story stood out, they were all brilliantly written. I purchased another Susan Perabo book, a novel, before I even got to the end of this. That proves she made quite an impression on me.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like I was observing these characters in real life as I read these short stories! These short stories are snapshots into the days of ordinary people in ordinary or extraordinary circumstances. I'm not usually a fan of short stories but this one is a good one!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite collection of short stories. I can't wait to sit down and re-read from page one. It's been some time since I read the book, but I always hope that I find a collection that makes me feel the way I felt while reading Perabo's collection.

[abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few truly good stories and some mediocre ones -- felt really "MFA in fiction writing" to me. overall, pretty enjoyable.

[Tommy]

Signed and inscribed 1st ed / 2nd printing

[Alex Bates]

great short stories, a form I particularly enjoy. I really liked "explaining death to the dog." I'm about half way through it.

[Chana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short stories darkly twisted, depressing and unfinished.

[Jonathan]

None

[Amy Wilks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm doing the adult summer reading club at our library, and this was on one of the recommended lists. Very interesting set of short stories. Lots of food for thought.