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Games and Rituals
The beloved author of Early Morning Riser brings us eleven glittering stories of love – friendships formed at the airport bar, ex-husbands with benefits, mothers of suspiciously sweet teenagers, ill-advised trysts – in all its forms, both ridiculous and sublime.
The games and rituals performed by Katherine Heiny’s characters range from mischievous to tender. In ‘Bridesmaid, Revisited,’ Marilee, suffering from a laundry and life crisis, wears a massive bridesmaid’s dress to work. In ‘Twist and Shout,’ Ericka’s elderly father mistakes his four-thousand-dollar hearing aid for a cashew and eats it. In ‘Turn Back, Turn Back,’ a bedtime story coupled with a receipt for a Starbucks babyccino reveal a struggling actor’s deception. And in ‘561,’ Charlene pays the true price of infidelity and is forced to help her husband’s ex-wife move out of the family home.
From one of our most celebrated writers, our bard of waking up in the wrong bed, wearing the wrong shoes, late for the wrong job, but loved by the right people, Katherine Heiny has delivered a work of glorious humour and immense kindness.
The games and rituals performed by Katherine Heiny’s characters range from mischievous to tender. In ‘Bridesmaid, Revisited,’ Marilee, suffering from a laundry and life crisis, wears a massive bridesmaid’s dress to work. In ‘Twist and Shout,’ Ericka’s elderly father mistakes his four-thousand-dollar hearing aid for a cashew and eats it. In ‘Turn Back, Turn Back,’ a bedtime story coupled with a receipt for a Starbucks babyccino reveal a struggling actor’s deception. And in ‘561,’ Charlene pays the true price of infidelity and is forced to help her husband’s ex-wife move out of the family home.
From one of our most celebrated writers, our bard of waking up in the wrong bed, wearing the wrong shoes, late for the wrong job, but loved by the right people, Katherine Heiny has delivered a work of glorious humour and immense kindness.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2023
233 people are currently reading
17461 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Heiny
9 books847 followersKatherine Heiny's fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Narrative,Glimmer Train, and many other places. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 865 reviews
October 23, 2023
Katherine Heiny, where have you been all my reading life? Right under my nose, that’s where. I just never thought to give you a read.
Heiny’s first-ever collection of short stories, Games and Rituals, spoke to me. Comprised of eleven stories all about love – whether it be romantic, familial, or platonic – there’s not a bad one in the bunch.
Each story is a current snapshot of a character’s life. Clearly there’s been life messiness before the stories begin, with more to come after they end, but Heiny doesn’t concern herself with that. She writes about the now.
And the snapshots she gives us are all relatable situations starring normal, everyday people. I saw something of myself in every story; a small part of me understood each character. Plus, I couldn’t get enough of Heiny’s tongue-in-cheek style of storytelling. There’s a slyness to her writing, a wry humor and warmth to it, and I was drawn to it like a moth to a literary flame.
It’s difficult to pick my favorites from the collection because, again, all the stories are fantastic. But since my arm is twisted …
Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented, where a driving examiner finds herself in a similar situation as one of her test-takers.
Damascus, where a mother worries about her teenage son making the same mistakes as she did.
Turn Back, Turn Back, where a wife learns something about her husband.
Bridesmaid, Revisited, where a woman wears an old bridesmaid dress and recalls memories she’d rather stay buried.
I haven’t read many short story collections this year, but of the few I've read, Games and Rituals is one of the best. Heiny's way with the mundane is just so damn good.
My sincerest appreciation to Katherine Heiny, Knopf, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
Heiny’s first-ever collection of short stories, Games and Rituals, spoke to me. Comprised of eleven stories all about love – whether it be romantic, familial, or platonic – there’s not a bad one in the bunch.
Each story is a current snapshot of a character’s life. Clearly there’s been life messiness before the stories begin, with more to come after they end, but Heiny doesn’t concern herself with that. She writes about the now.
And the snapshots she gives us are all relatable situations starring normal, everyday people. I saw something of myself in every story; a small part of me understood each character. Plus, I couldn’t get enough of Heiny’s tongue-in-cheek style of storytelling. There’s a slyness to her writing, a wry humor and warmth to it, and I was drawn to it like a moth to a literary flame.
It’s difficult to pick my favorites from the collection because, again, all the stories are fantastic. But since my arm is twisted …
Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented, where a driving examiner finds herself in a similar situation as one of her test-takers.
Damascus, where a mother worries about her teenage son making the same mistakes as she did.
Turn Back, Turn Back, where a wife learns something about her husband.
Bridesmaid, Revisited, where a woman wears an old bridesmaid dress and recalls memories she’d rather stay buried.
I haven’t read many short story collections this year, but of the few I've read, Games and Rituals is one of the best. Heiny's way with the mundane is just so damn good.
My sincerest appreciation to Katherine Heiny, Knopf, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
April 17, 2023
In a Nutshell: Enjoyed this anthology that peppers various human emotions into one tidy package. Slice-of-life–styled writing. Humour and seriousness blended perfectly in each story. Atypical endings, so that will be the decider for your experience.
This collection of eleven stories comes with a very interesting introductory note in the blurb:
Eleven glittering stories of love—friendships formed at the airport bar, ex-husbands with benefits, mothers of suspiciously sweet teenagers, ill-advised trysts—in all its forms, both ridiculous and sublime.
And for a change, the book lives up to the tall claim! Hallelujah!
Each of the eleven stories features characters ranging from quirky to despicable. The stories are all in slice-of-life format, which means you don’t necessarily have a start-middle-end progression, the tales jump around in their timelines, and the ending is not perfectly sealed. If you are highly particular about the endings of short stories being a traditional curtain-down, this may not work for you. To be honest, it doesn’t always work for me too. But in this anthology, the writing is so impeccable that I was able to let go of my need for the typical climax. Moreover, the endings work excellently for most of the stories; that helps.
All the stories focus on dysfunctional relationships, with one central character leading you on a merry journey of discovery. Many of the tales have a subtle undertone of humour—the snarky kind, which I enjoy best!
The only thing that would have made the anthology even better for me would have been an author’s note, explaining the motivation behind the stories or some insight into how this collection was put together. Even that wonderful line about the tales being glittering stories of love ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime is found only in the blurb. Knowing the central theme through an introductory note always makes an anthology more enjoyable.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the eleven tales, six reached/crossed the four star mark, and the remaining five hovered between 3-3.5 stars. In other words, no bad story at all – I either liked them or loved them! These were my top favourites with 4.5 stars and above:
🌹 Turn Back, Turn Back – A striking story of a couple who have always synced their lives around each other’s requirements, until now. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🌹 Games and Rituals – Deservedly the title story. Written in an unusual format, highlighting the various ‘games and rituals’ that are a part of friendships and romantic relationships. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🌹 CobRa – The funniest story in the book, and yet so poignant! You will never guess what CobRa stands for. I sure am glad it wasn’t the snake! 😁 - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🌹 Bridesmaid, Revisited – A woman decides to wear an old bridesmaid dress to work. This sets off varied memories from the past and that affects the moments in the present. Quite in-depth character sketching in this one. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Definitely recommended to every short story lover who wishes to encounter some truly interesting characters and how the quandaries they face make them what they are. I can see myself rereading this collection some day. Katherine Heiny was a new name to me, but now, I want to explore more works by this talented author.
3.9 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the eleven stories.
My thanks to 4th Estate and NetGalley for the DRC of “Games and Rituals”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
This collection of eleven stories comes with a very interesting introductory note in the blurb:
Eleven glittering stories of love—friendships formed at the airport bar, ex-husbands with benefits, mothers of suspiciously sweet teenagers, ill-advised trysts—in all its forms, both ridiculous and sublime.
And for a change, the book lives up to the tall claim! Hallelujah!
Each of the eleven stories features characters ranging from quirky to despicable. The stories are all in slice-of-life format, which means you don’t necessarily have a start-middle-end progression, the tales jump around in their timelines, and the ending is not perfectly sealed. If you are highly particular about the endings of short stories being a traditional curtain-down, this may not work for you. To be honest, it doesn’t always work for me too. But in this anthology, the writing is so impeccable that I was able to let go of my need for the typical climax. Moreover, the endings work excellently for most of the stories; that helps.
All the stories focus on dysfunctional relationships, with one central character leading you on a merry journey of discovery. Many of the tales have a subtle undertone of humour—the snarky kind, which I enjoy best!
The only thing that would have made the anthology even better for me would have been an author’s note, explaining the motivation behind the stories or some insight into how this collection was put together. Even that wonderful line about the tales being glittering stories of love ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime is found only in the blurb. Knowing the central theme through an introductory note always makes an anthology more enjoyable.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the eleven tales, six reached/crossed the four star mark, and the remaining five hovered between 3-3.5 stars. In other words, no bad story at all – I either liked them or loved them! These were my top favourites with 4.5 stars and above:
🌹 Turn Back, Turn Back – A striking story of a couple who have always synced their lives around each other’s requirements, until now. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🌹 Games and Rituals – Deservedly the title story. Written in an unusual format, highlighting the various ‘games and rituals’ that are a part of friendships and romantic relationships. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🌹 CobRa – The funniest story in the book, and yet so poignant! You will never guess what CobRa stands for. I sure am glad it wasn’t the snake! 😁 - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🌹 Bridesmaid, Revisited – A woman decides to wear an old bridesmaid dress to work. This sets off varied memories from the past and that affects the moments in the present. Quite in-depth character sketching in this one. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Definitely recommended to every short story lover who wishes to encounter some truly interesting characters and how the quandaries they face make them what they are. I can see myself rereading this collection some day. Katherine Heiny was a new name to me, but now, I want to explore more works by this talented author.
3.9 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the eleven stories.
My thanks to 4th Estate and NetGalley for the DRC of “Games and Rituals”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
February 27, 2023
4-5 stars
I really like the way Katherine Heiny writes, her novels are always relatable and entertaining and she does exactly that in this excellent and varied collection of short stories. Some are funny but also reflective on humanity, some are poignant and perceptive, some concern ‘everyday‘ worries such as parenting a teen with all the potential pitfalls. They’re about people who are all mostly likeable and who you can empathise with, at times the tone is tender and thoughtful and some are about failing which everyone feels they do sometimes. All human emotions are here from love to lust to grief, from worry to happiness to a desire to please. The tone is wry, dry and witty and hits the right notes. The author manages to paint vivid pictures with so few words, mastering the art of the succinct. There are some beautiful and original descriptions with cleverly named short stories such as Bridesmaid, Revisited in which Marlee wears an unsuitable dress to work following a laundry crisis - we’ve all been there! It leads to an uncomfortable memory revisit.
In my opinion the strongest stories are those in the first two thirds. I love Chicken Flavoured and Lemon Scented which is a funny story centred around a test driving examiner and how at times the test and the car can be a confessional. One of my favourites is Damascus which is so acutely observed and amusing but so apt about motherhood. However, my absolute standout is Twist and Shout which so resonates if you have an elderly parent or relative. I love Edgar the father, it’s funny, perceptive but also moving and sad.
Overall, if you like short stories this is a wonderful collection which I have no hesitation in recommending.
Thanks to NetGalley and especially to 4th Estate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
I really like the way Katherine Heiny writes, her novels are always relatable and entertaining and she does exactly that in this excellent and varied collection of short stories. Some are funny but also reflective on humanity, some are poignant and perceptive, some concern ‘everyday‘ worries such as parenting a teen with all the potential pitfalls. They’re about people who are all mostly likeable and who you can empathise with, at times the tone is tender and thoughtful and some are about failing which everyone feels they do sometimes. All human emotions are here from love to lust to grief, from worry to happiness to a desire to please. The tone is wry, dry and witty and hits the right notes. The author manages to paint vivid pictures with so few words, mastering the art of the succinct. There are some beautiful and original descriptions with cleverly named short stories such as Bridesmaid, Revisited in which Marlee wears an unsuitable dress to work following a laundry crisis - we’ve all been there! It leads to an uncomfortable memory revisit.
In my opinion the strongest stories are those in the first two thirds. I love Chicken Flavoured and Lemon Scented which is a funny story centred around a test driving examiner and how at times the test and the car can be a confessional. One of my favourites is Damascus which is so acutely observed and amusing but so apt about motherhood. However, my absolute standout is Twist and Shout which so resonates if you have an elderly parent or relative. I love Edgar the father, it’s funny, perceptive but also moving and sad.
Overall, if you like short stories this is a wonderful collection which I have no hesitation in recommending.
Thanks to NetGalley and especially to 4th Estate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
July 9, 2023
5★
“Colette has been a driving examiner for twelve years—she’s thirty-six—and yet it only occurs to her today that Ted Bundy had had a driver’s license. And that means that some driving examiner had taken him for a road test. Think about it: some driving examiner had willingly clambered into Ted’s VW bug and driven off with him.”
Ted Bundy?! ACK! Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?
That is the first paragraph of the first story of this excellent collection. The relationships, office and personal, between members of the staff are the main part of the story, but the anecdotes about the driving tests are fun. I will share one of Colette’s.
17-year-old Seraphina has driven straight through a red light with oncoming traffic bearing down on them. They shoot over an embankment, nearly flipping, and coming to land, right-side up, in a parking lot below. Whew! Turns out Seraphina has problems she can’t tell anyone about, and Colette feels so sorry for her she offers to help the girl personally on her day off.
“‘Thank you,’ Seraphina says. She closes her eyes and whispers, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ She sounds like she’s thanking the universe more than she’s thanking Colette.
‘You’re welcome,’ says the universe in the form of Colette.
(Because surely the universe arranged this particular road test.) ‘Okay, let’s trade places and I’ll drive you back to the office.’
‘Wait.’ Seraphina opens her eyes. ‘Did I pass or not?’”
I made notes about all the stories, but I can’t possibly share many here. A favourite is “CoBra”.
“ William had begun to worry that he no longer sparked joy in his wife and that she would give him to Goodwill. It was alarmingly easy to picture. His wife would thank him for his service and then drop him off at the donation center, the one behind the store with the blankly sinister roll-up doors. Goodwill would take him in and William would live out the rest of his days there, among the old bowling trophies, the stained bedsheets, the too-shallow cereal bowls, and the stuffed animals with only one eye.”
Rachel is obsessed with Marie Kondo and is compulsively Marie Kondo-ing their house.
“Only his wife had explained that William was wrong to call it “Marie Kondo–ing,’ that it was actually called the ‘KonMari method’ because Japanese people reversed and combined their first and last names to create a nickname.
William’s wife’s name was Rachel Coburn, so her Japanese nickname would be (or could be, sort of) CobRa.
William told her this, however unwisely. He was trying to make jokes, trying to spark joy. It was in short supply lately.”
He’s not having much luck and he’s always several steps behind her. He actually likes his tidy sock drawer, but the garage was a shock! As for his wardrobe –
“On the bed were his corduroys with the frayed hems, his sweaters with the perfectly stretched-out necks, the flannel shirts worn soft as flower petals. William said it all pretty much still sparked joy in him, but CobRa said that it had to spark joy in both of them.
‘You wearing it and me seeing you wear it,’ she said.
In the end, this left him with one pair of pants and four shirts.”
The author brings it to a very satisfying, believably real conclusion, which I always appreciate. It’s easy to poke fun at people but more difficult to make them vulnerable and human and ultimately people we might like to know.
All of the stories are people-relationship stories, not adventures or mysteries. The games and rituals play out particularly in a story of that name, where a young woman talks about all the little in-jokes we all use to keep us connected with shared memories. “Remember when …” and then you both howl with laughter, or one of you cringes with horrible embarrassment, or one of you says not to dare tell anyone else.
In “Skybar”, Fawn is at an airport in her hometown, where she has been visiting her parents and avoiding her ex, but now her flight’s cancelled and she’s stuck at the bar, waiting, waiting, drinking, flirting. She lives in New York City now, no longer in smalltown, Michigan, which is snowed in, and she wants to go ‘home’ – New York home.
“Fawn looks up automatically. She can’t help it. You can leave the past behind but some part of you remains there, like a rough sharp splintery tree branch sticking out along the path and snagging your sleeve.
. . .
Is it fair to dislike someone solely because he reminds you of an earlier, awkward stage of your life? Probably not. But nobody ever said life was fair.”
Some of the people are more likeable than others (well, duh, just like real life), but I can point to a lot of them who have appeared in my life.
Terrific collection that I loved. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the copy for review. [I did check the quotes against a library copy, since I’m a bit late reviewing it.]
“Colette has been a driving examiner for twelve years—she’s thirty-six—and yet it only occurs to her today that Ted Bundy had had a driver’s license. And that means that some driving examiner had taken him for a road test. Think about it: some driving examiner had willingly clambered into Ted’s VW bug and driven off with him.”
Ted Bundy?! ACK! Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?
That is the first paragraph of the first story of this excellent collection. The relationships, office and personal, between members of the staff are the main part of the story, but the anecdotes about the driving tests are fun. I will share one of Colette’s.
17-year-old Seraphina has driven straight through a red light with oncoming traffic bearing down on them. They shoot over an embankment, nearly flipping, and coming to land, right-side up, in a parking lot below. Whew! Turns out Seraphina has problems she can’t tell anyone about, and Colette feels so sorry for her she offers to help the girl personally on her day off.
“‘Thank you,’ Seraphina says. She closes her eyes and whispers, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ She sounds like she’s thanking the universe more than she’s thanking Colette.
‘You’re welcome,’ says the universe in the form of Colette.
(Because surely the universe arranged this particular road test.) ‘Okay, let’s trade places and I’ll drive you back to the office.’
‘Wait.’ Seraphina opens her eyes. ‘Did I pass or not?’”
I made notes about all the stories, but I can’t possibly share many here. A favourite is “CoBra”.
“ William had begun to worry that he no longer sparked joy in his wife and that she would give him to Goodwill. It was alarmingly easy to picture. His wife would thank him for his service and then drop him off at the donation center, the one behind the store with the blankly sinister roll-up doors. Goodwill would take him in and William would live out the rest of his days there, among the old bowling trophies, the stained bedsheets, the too-shallow cereal bowls, and the stuffed animals with only one eye.”
Rachel is obsessed with Marie Kondo and is compulsively Marie Kondo-ing their house.
“Only his wife had explained that William was wrong to call it “Marie Kondo–ing,’ that it was actually called the ‘KonMari method’ because Japanese people reversed and combined their first and last names to create a nickname.
William’s wife’s name was Rachel Coburn, so her Japanese nickname would be (or could be, sort of) CobRa.
William told her this, however unwisely. He was trying to make jokes, trying to spark joy. It was in short supply lately.”
He’s not having much luck and he’s always several steps behind her. He actually likes his tidy sock drawer, but the garage was a shock! As for his wardrobe –
“On the bed were his corduroys with the frayed hems, his sweaters with the perfectly stretched-out necks, the flannel shirts worn soft as flower petals. William said it all pretty much still sparked joy in him, but CobRa said that it had to spark joy in both of them.
‘You wearing it and me seeing you wear it,’ she said.
In the end, this left him with one pair of pants and four shirts.”
The author brings it to a very satisfying, believably real conclusion, which I always appreciate. It’s easy to poke fun at people but more difficult to make them vulnerable and human and ultimately people we might like to know.
All of the stories are people-relationship stories, not adventures or mysteries. The games and rituals play out particularly in a story of that name, where a young woman talks about all the little in-jokes we all use to keep us connected with shared memories. “Remember when …” and then you both howl with laughter, or one of you cringes with horrible embarrassment, or one of you says not to dare tell anyone else.
In “Skybar”, Fawn is at an airport in her hometown, where she has been visiting her parents and avoiding her ex, but now her flight’s cancelled and she’s stuck at the bar, waiting, waiting, drinking, flirting. She lives in New York City now, no longer in smalltown, Michigan, which is snowed in, and she wants to go ‘home’ – New York home.
“Fawn looks up automatically. She can’t help it. You can leave the past behind but some part of you remains there, like a rough sharp splintery tree branch sticking out along the path and snagging your sleeve.
. . .
Is it fair to dislike someone solely because he reminds you of an earlier, awkward stage of your life? Probably not. But nobody ever said life was fair.”
Some of the people are more likeable than others (well, duh, just like real life), but I can point to a lot of them who have appeared in my life.
Terrific collection that I loved. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the copy for review. [I did check the quotes against a library copy, since I’m a bit late reviewing it.]
May 13, 2023
Some interesting scenarios presented in these short stories, such as a woman who develops a romantic attraction to her fellow driving examiner and a woman who discovers some unsettling secrets about her actor husband. Overall, I found Katherine Heiny’s prose smooth and easy to read. Unfortunately I thought these stories lacked emotional depth. A lot of them contained novel and intriguing setups and concepts in the domestic sphere, though the introspection and context of these characters’ decisions weren’t developed enough for me: why is this character cheating on their romantic partner? Why is this character so hostile toward a former friend? Why does everyone in this family behave this way toward the mother figure? I was going back and forth between two and three stars and settled for two because a man is described as “on the edge of ugly” because he’s “short and slightly stocky, with thinning black hair” and I was like… not the casual fatphobia and heightism.
March 11, 2023
Each of these stories felt like a full novel, the characters and their world so fully realized in so few pages. There were laugh-out-loud moments, and times when my heart ached with recognition.
Lovers, exes, friends, parent and child–these characters are confronted with relationships that disappoint or are revealed to be something different than they expected.
A mother worries that her son is making all the mistakes she made as a teenager. A woman who is her father’s caretaker is driven crazy by his politics and demands. A wife becomes devoted to downsizing, hoping it will make her happy. A man elated by his affair learns a hard truth. A wife’s husband’s ex asks for his help in packing for a move; while the exes are comfortably lost in a haze of nostalgia, she carries the boxes outside and suffers the cold. New roommates are in lockdown; one Zooms with her employer just for companionship. Wearing a bridesmaid dress to work brings attention. Two women whose plane flights have been cancelled meet two local men.
Heiny share that the stories sprang from real-life incidents. Like a laundry-crisis that resulted in wearing a bridesmaid dress to work. Considering that even Ted Bundy took a driver’s road test. “They will forever be some of my favorite people,” she writes. That love comes through the stories.
Heiny’s imaginative powers shine in this collection. I loved every one.
Thanks to A. A. Knopf for an ARC.
Lovers, exes, friends, parent and child–these characters are confronted with relationships that disappoint or are revealed to be something different than they expected.
A mother worries that her son is making all the mistakes she made as a teenager. A woman who is her father’s caretaker is driven crazy by his politics and demands. A wife becomes devoted to downsizing, hoping it will make her happy. A man elated by his affair learns a hard truth. A wife’s husband’s ex asks for his help in packing for a move; while the exes are comfortably lost in a haze of nostalgia, she carries the boxes outside and suffers the cold. New roommates are in lockdown; one Zooms with her employer just for companionship. Wearing a bridesmaid dress to work brings attention. Two women whose plane flights have been cancelled meet two local men.
Heiny share that the stories sprang from real-life incidents. Like a laundry-crisis that resulted in wearing a bridesmaid dress to work. Considering that even Ted Bundy took a driver’s road test. “They will forever be some of my favorite people,” she writes. That love comes through the stories.
Heiny’s imaginative powers shine in this collection. I loved every one.
Thanks to A. A. Knopf for an ARC.
July 9, 2023
For those of you who enjoy short stories, this story collection is well worth reading.
Katherine Heiney's stories are fun, inventive and interesting. I especially loved the first three in the book:
* "Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented" - features the hijinks of a group of driving examiners at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Colette has a crush on one of her co-workers.
* "Damascus" - Mia's teenage son, who has never given her a moment's worth of worry, has started coming home looking sleepy, with bright eyes and a flushed face. Mia suspects marijuana use. After all, she had experimented with it herself at his age. And the story goes on from there.
* "Twist and Shout" - A man in his 90's mistakes his hearing aid for a pecan and tries to eat it, causing it to break. His daughter (who lives 6 hours away and has an up and down relationship with him) comes to help him. I loved their interactions.
These are playful stories, with an astute understanding of human nature.
Katherine Heiney's stories are fun, inventive and interesting. I especially loved the first three in the book:
* "Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented" - features the hijinks of a group of driving examiners at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Colette has a crush on one of her co-workers.
* "Damascus" - Mia's teenage son, who has never given her a moment's worth of worry, has started coming home looking sleepy, with bright eyes and a flushed face. Mia suspects marijuana use. After all, she had experimented with it herself at his age. And the story goes on from there.
* "Twist and Shout" - A man in his 90's mistakes his hearing aid for a pecan and tries to eat it, causing it to break. His daughter (who lives 6 hours away and has an up and down relationship with him) comes to help him. I loved their interactions.
These are playful stories, with an astute understanding of human nature.
June 13, 2023
god katherine heiny i love u
April 23, 2023
I absolutely loved this short story collection!
I've never read anything from Katherine Heiny before, but I definitely want to read her previous work. Her writing style is quirky, sentimental, fun, and dripping with sarcasm. I just found her prose so refreshing and relatable. The best story was "561" (broke my heart), and I think my favorite story was "Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented" (great twist ending). Overall, I really enjoyed all 11 stories. Short stories are so underrated. "Twist and Shout" had me cracking up, and "Sky Bar" felt so raw and unflinching. I didn't want this collection to end. So freakin' cute!
Thank you, Netgalley and Knopf for the digital ARC.
I've never read anything from Katherine Heiny before, but I definitely want to read her previous work. Her writing style is quirky, sentimental, fun, and dripping with sarcasm. I just found her prose so refreshing and relatable. The best story was "561" (broke my heart), and I think my favorite story was "Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented" (great twist ending). Overall, I really enjoyed all 11 stories. Short stories are so underrated. "Twist and Shout" had me cracking up, and "Sky Bar" felt so raw and unflinching. I didn't want this collection to end. So freakin' cute!
Thank you, Netgalley and Knopf for the digital ARC.
January 30, 2023
Games and Rituals gets right to the heart of what it means to be human – coping with imperfect current or ex-husbands, too suspiciously perfect teenage sons, current or soon-to-be former friends, or simply people who are thrown together in typical or atypical situations.
The tone is lighthearted for the most part, but right beneath the surface, there is poignancy and authenticity and the universal hopes, joys, disappointments, and losses that every single one of us experience in some manner or another as we go through our lives.
There was not a single story that was lacking in its execution although – as in any collection – there were a few that stood out. The collection gets off to a roaring start with Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented, a story of four driving examiners at the DMV and how each of them identify and interact with each other and drivers who show up for their all-important driving test. Not a word was out of place.
In another favorite, 561, Charlene – who at one time manned the suicide hotlines with her husband’s ex-wife and eventually lured him away from her – is called upon to move that ex-wife out of the family home. Both are gracious – on the surface – as emotions are played out in a sometimes passive-aggressive manner. In Turn Back, Turn Back, a wife who shares two daughters with her supposedly loving actor husband discovers that he is using his best acting methods to hide an affair with his younger acting partner.
Katherine Heiny makes the art of the short story appear effortless, which, of course, it’s not. I am grateful to Knopf and NetGalley for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. Very much recommended.
The tone is lighthearted for the most part, but right beneath the surface, there is poignancy and authenticity and the universal hopes, joys, disappointments, and losses that every single one of us experience in some manner or another as we go through our lives.
There was not a single story that was lacking in its execution although – as in any collection – there were a few that stood out. The collection gets off to a roaring start with Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented, a story of four driving examiners at the DMV and how each of them identify and interact with each other and drivers who show up for their all-important driving test. Not a word was out of place.
In another favorite, 561, Charlene – who at one time manned the suicide hotlines with her husband’s ex-wife and eventually lured him away from her – is called upon to move that ex-wife out of the family home. Both are gracious – on the surface – as emotions are played out in a sometimes passive-aggressive manner. In Turn Back, Turn Back, a wife who shares two daughters with her supposedly loving actor husband discovers that he is using his best acting methods to hide an affair with his younger acting partner.
Katherine Heiny makes the art of the short story appear effortless, which, of course, it’s not. I am grateful to Knopf and NetGalley for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. Very much recommended.
April 27, 2023
Early Morning Riser was one of my favourite books of 2021, and I caught up earlier this year with Heiny’s only previous novel, Standard Deviation. Both are hilarious takes on the quirks of relationships, exploring a specific dynamic that recurs in a couple of these stories: the uncomfortable triangle between a man, his second (invariably younger) wife, and the very different, generally formidable, woman he was formerly married to and who continues to play a role in his life. One of the strongest stories is “561,” which was first published as a stand-alone e-book in 2018. Charlie stole Forrest away from Barbara and now the two women have a frosty relationship. It might seem like poetic justice that Charlie later has to load all of Barbara’s possessions into a moving van, but the notion of penance gets murkier when we learn what happened when they worked together on a suicide prevention hotline.
Eight of the 11 stories are in the third person and most protagonists are young or middle-aged women navigating marriage/divorce and motherhood. A driving examiner finds herself in the same situation as her teenage test-taker; a wife finds evidence of her actor husband’s adultery. In “Damascus,” Mia worries her son might be on drugs, but doesn’t question her own self-destructive habits. Inspired by Marie Kondo, Rachel tries to pare her life back to the basics in “CobRa.” In “King Midas,” Oscar learns that all is not golden with his mistress. “Sky Bar” has Fawn stuck in her hometown airport during a blizzard. I particularly liked the ridiculous situations Florida housemates get themselves into in “Pandemic Behavior,” and the second-person “Twist and Shout,” about loving an elderly father even though he’s infuriating.
Heiny mixes humour with bitter truths in engaging stories about characters whose mistakes and futile attempts to escape the past only make them the more relatable. Her first and last lines are particularly strong; who could resist a piece that opens with “Your elderly father has mistaken his four-thousand-dollar hearing aid for a cashew and eaten it”?
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Eight of the 11 stories are in the third person and most protagonists are young or middle-aged women navigating marriage/divorce and motherhood. A driving examiner finds herself in the same situation as her teenage test-taker; a wife finds evidence of her actor husband’s adultery. In “Damascus,” Mia worries her son might be on drugs, but doesn’t question her own self-destructive habits. Inspired by Marie Kondo, Rachel tries to pare her life back to the basics in “CobRa.” In “King Midas,” Oscar learns that all is not golden with his mistress. “Sky Bar” has Fawn stuck in her hometown airport during a blizzard. I particularly liked the ridiculous situations Florida housemates get themselves into in “Pandemic Behavior,” and the second-person “Twist and Shout,” about loving an elderly father even though he’s infuriating.
Heiny mixes humour with bitter truths in engaging stories about characters whose mistakes and futile attempts to escape the past only make them the more relatable. Her first and last lines are particularly strong; who could resist a piece that opens with “Your elderly father has mistaken his four-thousand-dollar hearing aid for a cashew and eaten it”?
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
May 9, 2023
This was honestly the first short story collection I’ve read in a really long time where I genuinely enjoyed every single story.
‘Games and Rituals’ by Katherine Heiny is a short story collection following the lives of ordinary people dealing with life and the funny, sad, inconvenient, and chaotic situations life puts us in such as breakups, infidelity, being stuck at an airport with strangers, the ebbs and flows of marriage, dealing with parents and more.
Just as one story would end and I would think, I don’t know if I can connect to the new story, but within minutes I’d be absorbed. I usually don’t gravitate toward short stories because I am often left feeling unfinished, but this time I had the exact opposite experience. She has a great way of making every character feel real with quirkiness, sarcasm, and heartfelt moments.
While I enjoyed all the stories, the standouts for me were -
‘Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented’
‘CobRa’
‘561’
‘Sky Bar’
‘Twist and Shout’
5/5⭐️
Thank you so much for the ARC!
‘Games and Rituals’ by Katherine Heiny is a short story collection following the lives of ordinary people dealing with life and the funny, sad, inconvenient, and chaotic situations life puts us in such as breakups, infidelity, being stuck at an airport with strangers, the ebbs and flows of marriage, dealing with parents and more.
Just as one story would end and I would think, I don’t know if I can connect to the new story, but within minutes I’d be absorbed. I usually don’t gravitate toward short stories because I am often left feeling unfinished, but this time I had the exact opposite experience. She has a great way of making every character feel real with quirkiness, sarcasm, and heartfelt moments.
While I enjoyed all the stories, the standouts for me were -
‘Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented’
‘CobRa’
‘561’
‘Sky Bar’
‘Twist and Shout’
5/5⭐️
Thank you so much for the ARC!
November 6, 2023
I very rarely say this, because usually it’s almost impossible for a short story collection to have non stop excellent stories - but ‘Games and Rituals’ was just one such collection; every single story was perfect. 6/5
May 10, 2023
I'm not a huge short story person but I AM a huge Katherine Heiny fan and this latest collection of short stories did not disappoint! Seemingly simple, the stories in this book are all told with a wry humor and deep insight into everyday, ordinary slices of life that I just find so relatable and poignant.
From caring for an aging parent, losing said parent, life during the pandemic, divorce, moving on, infidelity, parenting and so much more. I challenge you not to find at least one story that will speak to you on some level. Great on audio and highly recommended especially if you enjoyed any of her last books.
From caring for an aging parent, losing said parent, life during the pandemic, divorce, moving on, infidelity, parenting and so much more. I challenge you not to find at least one story that will speak to you on some level. Great on audio and highly recommended especially if you enjoyed any of her last books.
May 12, 2023
Katherine has such a unique tone to writing with such wit. You really feel like you’re in these characters minds, thinking what they’re thinking, or what you’re even thinking, when no one is looking (how could they be looking?! It’s in your mind!).
I love short stories and books like these make me remember why! Such a why of tying human emotions and moments. Laugh out loud funny with different walks of life.
I love short stories and books like these make me remember why! Such a why of tying human emotions and moments. Laugh out loud funny with different walks of life.
September 10, 2023
3.5
Katherine Heiny's Games and Rituls is a collection of short stories, most of them featuring women in different stages of life. It's an easy-to-digest collection, even more so as an audiobook. As it's the case with most collections, some stories appealed more than others, but over-all, it was an enjoyable listening experience.
Katherine Heiny's Games and Rituls is a collection of short stories, most of them featuring women in different stages of life. It's an easy-to-digest collection, even more so as an audiobook. As it's the case with most collections, some stories appealed more than others, but over-all, it was an enjoyable listening experience.
April 15, 2024
3.5 / a good enjoyable short story collection but I feel like I’m already forgetting it all
February 11, 2023
I entered a Goodreads giveaway for five copies of this book along with 11,000 other entrants, figuring that there was no chance but, hey, I like Katherine Heiny so on the off off off chance I'd win it would be three seconds of my time well spent. To my shock, I was one of the lucky five, and that is how I acquired my first five star read of the year.
Games and Rituals feels like Heiny is at the top of her game. The stories are in line with something Nora Ephron or Jennifer Close might produce, funny and often on the lighter side up until the emotional wallop comes at the end.
It occurred to me while reading this collection how refreshing it is that a writer of skill like Heiny is not afraid to wrap her plots up without ambiguity. You always know at the end of each story who stayed together, who broke up, who died. Four of the first six books I've read this year were hefty or heavy hitting. I think I loved Games and Rituals even more so when contrasted with those reads. It's so refreshing to read literary fiction that is done well and also unabashedly straightforward, funny, feminine, and tidy.
Games and Rituals feels like Heiny is at the top of her game. The stories are in line with something Nora Ephron or Jennifer Close might produce, funny and often on the lighter side up until the emotional wallop comes at the end.
It occurred to me while reading this collection how refreshing it is that a writer of skill like Heiny is not afraid to wrap her plots up without ambiguity. You always know at the end of each story who stayed together, who broke up, who died. Four of the first six books I've read this year were hefty or heavy hitting. I think I loved Games and Rituals even more so when contrasted with those reads. It's so refreshing to read literary fiction that is done well and also unabashedly straightforward, funny, feminine, and tidy.
March 14, 2024
Here goes my 5 star review of "Games and Rituals," a short story collection by Katherine Heiny. Apparently this is her first foray into the world of stories as she is normally a novelist. Great news! More fiction text by her for me to read!
The novelist in her is showing in these stories, each of which is a world of its own, similar to the world of a novel. There is also that sad feeling when we have to depart from where we've been taken to reenter our own space. However, the author often reminds we the reader that she has opinions apart from the narrative. She breaks out of said narrative to comment on the storyline or simply to remark about life in general. These breaks are never jarring, but rather engage us more, in my opinion.
Following is a wall-breaking moment of this type from "Damascus", one of my faves from the book. The characters are a Mom and son; Mia and Gordey.
p. 32 "Mia would never search Gordey's room, would never violate his privacy, so don't go thinking otherwise. She was merely tidying his room-putting away laundry and making his bed and vacuuming under the bed for dust bunnies. If you considered that sort of normal housekeeping 'searching,' then she's been invading his privacy for past seventeen years! Honestly, she wasn't looking for a bong or edibles or a baggie full of stems.
(SHE DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING.)"
Here's another example from "Sky Bar" where the characters meet and are stuck together while waiting for their delayed flights at the airport.
p. 201-an aside to readers
"(Some people say time is like a river, but it's really much more like an accordion, constantly squeezing you back to high school.)"
I've often thought this exact same thing about time (not about high school) when I'm on my repetitive long weekly hike and time telescopes in and out of memory to reality.
The majority of these stories are about heterosexual couples, a few with men who cheat. However, to make it more interesting, there is often an element of women who are friends with other women that the partner used to be married to! The tales are very relatable and/or suspenseful or surprising.
In "561", a special favorite of mine, current wife Charlie is remembering her time with former wife Barbara when they used to work in a suicide call center together before the divorce. It's entitled 561 because the call center volunteers refer to each other with numbers instead of their names to maintain anonymity. In this scene, there is the sorrow of death when one of the callers kills himself, but also the joy of Charlie still being alive herself.
p. 141 "Charlie's memory of that morning is patchy. She remembers an EMT picking up the phone and telling her how sorry he was. She remembers Barbara crying softly into into a paper towel from the roll on top of the microwave. She remembers leaving the call center and how the world-even G Street, with its chain link fences and broken sidewalks and garish storefronts-looked clean and washed of color. She remembers stopping to buy a jelly donut on her way to the Metro, how sweet the donut tasted, how the sweetness lasted much longer than the donut; all day, in fact."
But enough about all the fabulosity to be found in these stories...if you like the sound of them, read them yourself!
The novelist in her is showing in these stories, each of which is a world of its own, similar to the world of a novel. There is also that sad feeling when we have to depart from where we've been taken to reenter our own space. However, the author often reminds we the reader that she has opinions apart from the narrative. She breaks out of said narrative to comment on the storyline or simply to remark about life in general. These breaks are never jarring, but rather engage us more, in my opinion.
Following is a wall-breaking moment of this type from "Damascus", one of my faves from the book. The characters are a Mom and son; Mia and Gordey.
p. 32 "Mia would never search Gordey's room, would never violate his privacy, so don't go thinking otherwise. She was merely tidying his room-putting away laundry and making his bed and vacuuming under the bed for dust bunnies. If you considered that sort of normal housekeeping 'searching,' then she's been invading his privacy for past seventeen years! Honestly, she wasn't looking for a bong or edibles or a baggie full of stems.
(SHE DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING.)"
Here's another example from "Sky Bar" where the characters meet and are stuck together while waiting for their delayed flights at the airport.
p. 201-an aside to readers
"(Some people say time is like a river, but it's really much more like an accordion, constantly squeezing you back to high school.)"
I've often thought this exact same thing about time (not about high school) when I'm on my repetitive long weekly hike and time telescopes in and out of memory to reality.
The majority of these stories are about heterosexual couples, a few with men who cheat. However, to make it more interesting, there is often an element of women who are friends with other women that the partner used to be married to! The tales are very relatable and/or suspenseful or surprising.
In "561", a special favorite of mine, current wife Charlie is remembering her time with former wife Barbara when they used to work in a suicide call center together before the divorce. It's entitled 561 because the call center volunteers refer to each other with numbers instead of their names to maintain anonymity. In this scene, there is the sorrow of death when one of the callers kills himself, but also the joy of Charlie still being alive herself.
p. 141 "Charlie's memory of that morning is patchy. She remembers an EMT picking up the phone and telling her how sorry he was. She remembers Barbara crying softly into into a paper towel from the roll on top of the microwave. She remembers leaving the call center and how the world-even G Street, with its chain link fences and broken sidewalks and garish storefronts-looked clean and washed of color. She remembers stopping to buy a jelly donut on her way to the Metro, how sweet the donut tasted, how the sweetness lasted much longer than the donut; all day, in fact."
But enough about all the fabulosity to be found in these stories...if you like the sound of them, read them yourself!
April 7, 2023
What I admire about Katherine Heiny's stories is that she writes characters with so much tenderness and humor that you just want to spend hours with them as they grapple with the everyday troubles of modern life. This collection of stories is about relationships in various forms: parents/children; divorced couples; co-workers. One of my favorite stories is about people who work at the DMV giving driving tests and how they choose which drivers go with which tester. Another is about an a small life adventure at an airport after all the flights have been cancelled. Every once in a while, there will be a sharp jolt of recognition by the character about the reality of existence. All this being said, there is a sameness to the emotional temperature of these stories that might blur them together in tone. But since it's a tone I like, that's okay with me.
Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 27, 2023
funny, contemplative, stunningly developed and sooooo intriguing. when anyone asks why I love short story collections so much, this will be one of the books I direct them to.
September 1, 2023
The blurb for this collection says it contains "11 glittering stories of love in all its forms," but I'm pretty sure it meant to say "stories of infidelity in all its forms."
As someone who's still healing from having been cheated on, I'm very tired of cheating being used as a plot point — and it's way, way overused here. I'm talking nearly every single story. It's like Katherine Heiny couldn't possibly think of any other big dramatic thing that could happen in someone's love life. It's like she had a big red button labeled "CHEAT" beside her while she was writing and she slammed her fist down on it like 27 times while writing these stories.
One story was so triggering for me and my personal experience with betrayal that it made me feel sick to my stomach and I had to actively regulate my emotions afterward. And what's worse, many of these stories read as though they're glorifying the affairs to an extent. It seems like Heiny is asking her readers to feel charitable for these selfish assholes, but I didn't feel an ounce of charity toward any of them because why would I??
Also, this book could have easily been titled Men Are Scum. There are maybe two decent men to be found among all these stories. The rest are straight-up terrible, skeezy, predatory dirtbags. They're all either cheating on their spouses or preying on teenage girls. If I'm not mistaken, the last story tries to make us feel some amount of sympathy toward a guy in his late 30s who married a girl fresh out of high school who also worked in his store as a high schooler??? Don't think I will, thanks.
And on that note, there are several instances of much older men taking advantage of teenage girls that are all just quickly glossed over. Like in 11 stories/218 pages, this happens four or five times. Weird choice.
A lot of the female characters are encoded with a lot of "not like other girls" BS, particularly the mistresses, while the wives are depicted as frumpy, nagging shrews. Again, weird choice by a woman writer. Don't we have plenty (read: way too fucking much) of that from male authors?
Aside from all that, I'm just not sure many of these stories had anything much to say, and they were full of some of the most bizarre, nonsensical similes/metaphors I've ever read.
Giving it two stars because I somewhat enjoyed parts of "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented," "CobRa," and "Pandemic Behavior," and the ending of "Bridesmaid, Revisited" was probably the strongest in the collection.
As someone who's still healing from having been cheated on, I'm very tired of cheating being used as a plot point — and it's way, way overused here. I'm talking nearly every single story. It's like Katherine Heiny couldn't possibly think of any other big dramatic thing that could happen in someone's love life. It's like she had a big red button labeled "CHEAT" beside her while she was writing and she slammed her fist down on it like 27 times while writing these stories.
One story was so triggering for me and my personal experience with betrayal that it made me feel sick to my stomach and I had to actively regulate my emotions afterward. And what's worse, many of these stories read as though they're glorifying the affairs to an extent. It seems like Heiny is asking her readers to feel charitable for these selfish assholes, but I didn't feel an ounce of charity toward any of them because why would I??
Also, this book could have easily been titled Men Are Scum. There are maybe two decent men to be found among all these stories. The rest are straight-up terrible, skeezy, predatory dirtbags. They're all either cheating on their spouses or preying on teenage girls. If I'm not mistaken, the last story tries to make us feel some amount of sympathy toward a guy in his late 30s who married a girl fresh out of high school who also worked in his store as a high schooler??? Don't think I will, thanks.
And on that note, there are several instances of much older men taking advantage of teenage girls that are all just quickly glossed over. Like in 11 stories/218 pages, this happens four or five times. Weird choice.
A lot of the female characters are encoded with a lot of "not like other girls" BS, particularly the mistresses, while the wives are depicted as frumpy, nagging shrews. Again, weird choice by a woman writer. Don't we have plenty (read: way too fucking much) of that from male authors?
Aside from all that, I'm just not sure many of these stories had anything much to say, and they were full of some of the most bizarre, nonsensical similes/metaphors I've ever read.
Giving it two stars because I somewhat enjoyed parts of "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented," "CobRa," and "Pandemic Behavior," and the ending of "Bridesmaid, Revisited" was probably the strongest in the collection.
April 18, 2023
There's a link between yesterday's review and today's: Jenny Jackson, author of Pineapple Street is Katherine Heiny's editor. No prizes for guessing which book I preferred.
Games and Rituals is a collection of short stories, Heiny's second, and the follow-up to her two novels Standard Deviation (still my favourite of hers) and Early Morning Riser. Her first short story collection Single, Carefree, Mellow will be republished in May.
I'd put Heiny in the same category as Judy Blume, Lily King, Anne Tyler, Hilma Wolitzer - brilliant observational writing with moments of real humour and heart. I think if you like any of these authors, or shows like Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll enjoy her books.
A few stories in here made me laugh out loud. Heiny unearths hilarity and poignancy in the most mundane things - marriage, infidelity, a delayed flight, moving house, the driving test centre, the pandemic, intransigence in old age and Marie Kondo.
These are perfect stories to dip in and out of if you're time poor. I read them over the course of a couple of weeks, letting each story marinate for a day or two. While some stories were better than others (rare to find a short story collection where this isn't the case), the writing is sharp throughout, and the characters full of life. Standout stories for me were:
Chicken-Flavoured and Lemon-Scented
Twist and Shout
CobRa
Pandemic Behaviour
Bridesmaid, Revisited
*Many thanks to the publisher @knopf @vintagebooks for the arc via @netgalley. Games and Rituals was published today. As always, this is an honest review.*
3.5-4 ⭐️
Games and Rituals is a collection of short stories, Heiny's second, and the follow-up to her two novels Standard Deviation (still my favourite of hers) and Early Morning Riser. Her first short story collection Single, Carefree, Mellow will be republished in May.
I'd put Heiny in the same category as Judy Blume, Lily King, Anne Tyler, Hilma Wolitzer - brilliant observational writing with moments of real humour and heart. I think if you like any of these authors, or shows like Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll enjoy her books.
A few stories in here made me laugh out loud. Heiny unearths hilarity and poignancy in the most mundane things - marriage, infidelity, a delayed flight, moving house, the driving test centre, the pandemic, intransigence in old age and Marie Kondo.
These are perfect stories to dip in and out of if you're time poor. I read them over the course of a couple of weeks, letting each story marinate for a day or two. While some stories were better than others (rare to find a short story collection where this isn't the case), the writing is sharp throughout, and the characters full of life. Standout stories for me were:
Chicken-Flavoured and Lemon-Scented
Twist and Shout
CobRa
Pandemic Behaviour
Bridesmaid, Revisited
*Many thanks to the publisher @knopf @vintagebooks for the arc via @netgalley. Games and Rituals was published today. As always, this is an honest review.*
3.5-4 ⭐️
November 10, 2022
I received a copy of this collection from the publisher via NetGalley.
I am not usually a big fan of short stories, but for Katherine Heiny I will make an exception. These are, as her writing always is, quirky, funny, and honest. I particularly enjoyed the first story, set at a driving examiner's office, 'Damascus' about a mother and her son whose behaviour turns out to be better than hers, and the sad 'Turn Back, Turn Back'.
Recommended.
I am not usually a big fan of short stories, but for Katherine Heiny I will make an exception. These are, as her writing always is, quirky, funny, and honest. I particularly enjoyed the first story, set at a driving examiner's office, 'Damascus' about a mother and her son whose behaviour turns out to be better than hers, and the sad 'Turn Back, Turn Back'.
Recommended.
September 13, 2023
Katherine Heiny is in my top 10 favourite contemporary writers. She’s brilliant in short form as well as full length novels. She does it all. That it took me this long after publication to read these stories is a crime. If you’re new to Heiny she’s one of the few writers I think you have to read in publication order.
April 5, 2023
the average of my ratings for the individual stories comes to a 3.25, but overall, i'd rate the collection a 3.5
thank you to net galley for the arc!
i particularly liked the wit and snap of this collection. there is a dryness to the humour, and i always enjoy contemporary settings through teetering characters. some of these stories were exceptionally good. they weaved in details that always wrapped into a bow at the end. they had something to offer. they didn’t just entertain, but there was a message somewhere.
some of these stories fell short for me. i think a running theme with the stories i liked less were the endings. in some cases, it was a good sign; a sign that i wanted more from the characters of that story and it ended too fast. in other cases, i was left thinking the story had meant nothing. why is it in this collection?
i also feel like there is something to be said about more and more books being written in this dry, detached tone as if to emulate real life. on that, i would say katherine heiny did a good job at maintaining that balance on the humor side, without falling into the poor man’s moshfegh mold so many author’s succumb to.
i definitely recommend this collection! even if you dont love it as a whole, you will find a 5 star story in here for sure!!
my fave stories:
• turn back, turn back
• games & rituals
• 561
• bridesmaids, revisited
thank you to net galley for the arc!
i particularly liked the wit and snap of this collection. there is a dryness to the humour, and i always enjoy contemporary settings through teetering characters. some of these stories were exceptionally good. they weaved in details that always wrapped into a bow at the end. they had something to offer. they didn’t just entertain, but there was a message somewhere.
some of these stories fell short for me. i think a running theme with the stories i liked less were the endings. in some cases, it was a good sign; a sign that i wanted more from the characters of that story and it ended too fast. in other cases, i was left thinking the story had meant nothing. why is it in this collection?
i also feel like there is something to be said about more and more books being written in this dry, detached tone as if to emulate real life. on that, i would say katherine heiny did a good job at maintaining that balance on the humor side, without falling into the poor man’s moshfegh mold so many author’s succumb to.
i definitely recommend this collection! even if you dont love it as a whole, you will find a 5 star story in here for sure!!
my fave stories:
• turn back, turn back
• games & rituals
• 561
• bridesmaids, revisited
January 19, 2025
4.5 stars
February 3, 2025
Tim and I read this to each other. I enjoyed them, but sometimes felt the situations were played for their humour more than reality, which I would have preferred.
January 5, 2026
Unfortunately Games and Rituals contained multiple stories about unpleasant people. Having previously enjoyed one of Katherine Heiny's other books, this was a disappointing read.
June 11, 2023
I've always turned to short stories to get me through a reading slump, or to intersperse between my other reading. One benefit of the form is that it allows readers to start and stop at will. I've been working through Katherine Heiny's latest collection Games and Rituals for the last couple of weeks, turning to a story here and there when I needed a break from the longer sci-fi work I was trudging through. Heiny is an author I'd heard of but had never read, so I was excited to be offered a copy of this work from her publisher. It was filled with heartfelt and witty stories that worked well in the bite-sized format of short stories.
The book comprises eleven stories, each of which has something to do with relationships. Heiny peeks into the lives of these characters as they face a kind of turning point in their life. The opening story Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented sets things off on the right foot as it imagines the lives of DMV employees and the people they encounter during their driving tests. Office relationships come to a head when professional and personal lines are crossed. Several of the stories explore romantic relationships in their various stages. 561, one of the stronger entries in the collection, imagines a woman called to help her husband move his ex-wife out of their family home.
Like most short collections, some of the stories in Games and Rituals are stronger than others. What is apparent throughout, though, is that Katherine Heiny has a penchant for digging deep into characters and conjuring relatable situations to place them in. Heiny's dry wit permeates the pages, adding humor to even serious moments. I easily breezed through the collection. The slice-of-life approach really works here, giving us just enough insight into the lives of these characters to latch onto them. Games and Rituals is a solid collection that has me interested in exploring more of Katherine Heiny's writing.
The book comprises eleven stories, each of which has something to do with relationships. Heiny peeks into the lives of these characters as they face a kind of turning point in their life. The opening story Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented sets things off on the right foot as it imagines the lives of DMV employees and the people they encounter during their driving tests. Office relationships come to a head when professional and personal lines are crossed. Several of the stories explore romantic relationships in their various stages. 561, one of the stronger entries in the collection, imagines a woman called to help her husband move his ex-wife out of their family home.
Like most short collections, some of the stories in Games and Rituals are stronger than others. What is apparent throughout, though, is that Katherine Heiny has a penchant for digging deep into characters and conjuring relatable situations to place them in. Heiny's dry wit permeates the pages, adding humor to even serious moments. I easily breezed through the collection. The slice-of-life approach really works here, giving us just enough insight into the lives of these characters to latch onto them. Games and Rituals is a solid collection that has me interested in exploring more of Katherine Heiny's writing.
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