Status Updates From Stay Awake

All these stories are intense, but the last one I read caused me to put my book down, stunned. These are everything short stories should be, but rarely are. So often they end with me wondering what the point was. I consider this collection a master class.

Took a gamble—brought this book on a little trip having never read the author before, not knowing if I’d enjoy it or be left without anything to read. So far I’m absolutely loving the way he writes and the emerging themes of this short story collection. It’s just disturbing enough to draw me in, but it’s not overdone. I can’t stand edgelord authors.

Damn, that escalated quickly! Ha. Started out with a seemingly ordinary family, their son experiencing the mundane horror of bad dreams but not remembering them—then, bam! Very dark backstory.

“he is the type of person who will always be your friend, for as long as you can stand to keep disappointing him”

i love and hate that chaon doesnt fully explain his stories but also cassie was totally his mom right

dan chaon is a rare male author that can actually write a woman as a person first lol

“conclusion simply the place you tired of thinking”

did gene kill both his families ??