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A review by shimmery
The Collected Stories by Grace Paley
5.0
A beautiful, chatterbox of a book, with a whole spectrum of stories ranging from light and fun to terribly dark.
Grace Paley knew about people, about ordinary lives and relationships and she captures these things so wonderfully in her stories. So many are so unapologetically about women, just women chatting to each other about their lives — she has a remarkable ear for dialogue. There are women whose partners have walked out on them, women meeting in parks with their babies, women organising political protests — women doing all kinds of things in their everyday life which Paley has such fun paying attention to. Her writing is rare and refreshing and ultimately life affirming.
Though each story is a standalone piece, many share characters so that you become familiar with them throughout the collection, making this a good choice for people who want to try short stories but usually prefer novels.
Grace Paley knew about people, about ordinary lives and relationships and she captures these things so wonderfully in her stories. So many are so unapologetically about women, just women chatting to each other about their lives — she has a remarkable ear for dialogue. There are women whose partners have walked out on them, women meeting in parks with their babies, women organising political protests — women doing all kinds of things in their everyday life which Paley has such fun paying attention to. Her writing is rare and refreshing and ultimately life affirming.
Though each story is a standalone piece, many share characters so that you become familiar with them throughout the collection, making this a good choice for people who want to try short stories but usually prefer novels.