The Best of Animals: Stories [Paperback]

Lauren Grodstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

This highly affecting debut story collection stars a cast of young men and women frozen in the headlights of oncoming adulthood. In nimble prose, Lauren Grodstein treats moments of human vulnerability with a smart mix of irony and compassion. Whether halfheartedly consoling--and then fondling--a drunken friend after a breakup ("Lonely Planet") or trying to fill a dead mother's shoes at a father's birthday dinner ("Satellites or Airplanes"), the protagonists of these ten tales rarely say exactly what they mean or know exactly how they feel. Each has a propensity for social insecurity to which we can all relate, as we can to the public blunders and private triumphs that comprise their lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grodstein captures the uncertain nuances of the mating game in her impressive debut collection, consisting of 10 lively, smart stories that focus on 20-something men and women in urban settings who are trying to reconcile their ambivalent feelings for one another. "Lonely Planet" exemplifies Grodstein's modus operandi perfectly, as a young ad executive consoles the guy she yearns for after he breaks up with his new love, then assuages her own loneliness by slipping into bed with him after a night of drinking. "On the Side" explores a similar motif from a male perspective, as a young married man with some serious fidelity issues goes out to buy cold medicine for his sick wife and purchases a package of condoms while torturing himself with vivid images of her imagined betrayals. "Yellow Morning" offers yet another take on the jealousy angle when a woman delays her visit to see her best friend, Caitlin, whose mother is dying, because she finally acknowledges to herself that Caitlin has casually seduced the only two men the narrator cared for. Grodstein tends toward bleakness, but she does have a romantic streak that she indulges quite successfully in "John on the Train: A Fable for Our Cynical Friends," a touching yarn about a young magazine editor who pines for a fellow passenger after he experiences love at first sight on a New York subway. Grodstein's quirky voice and sassy, ironic humor make these stories come alive, and she uses first-person narration to create unusual, believable characters. Her voice becomes a bit familiar and redundant over the course of the collection, but that trait would probably serve her well as a novelist if she decides to try long-form narrative.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Grodstein's agile prose and clever observations...make [this] acerbic first book of short stories...stand out. -- New York Times Book Review

Her quirky voice and sassy, ironic humor make these stories come alive. -- Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Persea Books (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892553057
• ISBN-13: 978-0892553051
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,706,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lauren Grodstein is the author of the novels "A Friend of the Family" and "Reproduction is the Flaw of Love," and the short story collection "The Best of Animals." She teaches creative writing at the Camden campus of Rutgers University, where she helps administer the university MFA program, and lives in New Jersey, near Rutgers, with her husband and her fifteen month old son. In her spare time, which is infrequent and totally wonderful, she likes perusing fancy cookbooks, swimming laps at the local indoor pool, and taking long walks around her neighborhood. She also likes folding laundry while listening to "This American Life," on her kitchen radio and making grilled cheese sandwiches for her son (and eating at least half of the sandwiches herself).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-out-loud collection, July 5, 2002

By 

Nicholas (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Animals: Stories (Hardcover)

I'm not some kind of idiot who sits alone laughing to himself over a book, or disturbing others in the library by chortling at my reading. But Lauren Grodstein's stories are laugh-out-loud funny. Their biting and often cynical wit proved irresistible - I couldn't keep from provoking a few sidelong glances over lattes and, later, bitter 'shush's from the studious denizens of the 24-hour reading room. The story 'Gazelles', a case in point, is told from the perspective of a girl alienated by the cruelty of her athletic, attractive and hopelessly shallow high school peers. Grodstein brilliantly captures her heroine's deliciously edgy humor, her only defense in a world where, as she puts it, she falls prey to her tormenters as easily as the animals of the story's title fall to the lions of a nature video. This witty style keeps the tales moving and fresh, but what makes them memorable is their ability to touch an emotional chord. 'How the Stars Live' slowly and convincingly reveals a deep seriousness beneath its witty surface as it explores the emotions of its male protagonist and eventually removes the cool, 'tough-girl' mask of the woman with whom he has made his emotional mess. 'Family Vacation', another story narrated by an adolescent too smart for her environment, probes the interrelations of a family whose tensions and traumas approach their breaking point when they are trapped on a monorail at Disney World. rodstein's voice is as powerful as it is funny in this story that balances humor with a truly moving depiction of emotion. There is something to engage everyone in these ten stories, to move you as well as make you laugh out loud.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful collection of stories, December 20, 2005

By 

K Engles - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Animals: Stories (Paperback)

I'd never heard of the author, so it was really the cover of this book that grabbed me. And I'm so glad it did. These stories were just great. They were thoughtful, sometimes humorous looks at contemporary relationships that you can't help but identify with. I will definitely look for the author's next book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and True..., August 22, 2002

By 

Kathleen Lawton-Trask "Reader, Writer, Knitte... (Alexandria, Va., United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of Animals: Stories (Hardcover)

I've been following Lauren Grodstein's work closely since she appeared in the "Virgin Fiction 2" collection (an anthology of short stories by young talented unpublished writers) and I think she is one of the most interesting and funny new voices out there. I recommend this book highly -- I've already given it as a gift to six people, all of whom loved it!