Customer Reviews

The Brutal Language of Love: Stories by

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
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let me start by saying that this is the only book i have ever felt compelled to review on this site, and probably will be the only one for quite some time. picking up this book was an impulse buy, as i violated two main rules in purchasing it: firstly, i don't buy authors i haven't heard of; and secondly, i shy away from women in contemporary fiction because i have gotten burned way too much in the last few years. that being said, this collection is one of the finest that i have read in my life. the protagonists are all empowered females, so the book has a feminist flair, but what is most interesting about the presentation is the decidedly anti-feminist undercurrent. erian never leaves things clear cut. when her characters makes conscious decisions that empower them, that allow them to flaunt their power and their sexuality, i found myself cringing because while these are powerful decisions, they are not exactly the right ones, and the characters know it. there is a self-destruction in the exercising of their femininity that is at once wholly new, unexpected, admirable, and tragic. erian's prose is economic and careful, and her stories taunt the reader with abrupt endings and open interpretation. she will end a story right as she leads up to a confrontation that has been building for fifteen pages, and it is here that she empowers her reader, by allowing them to take an active role in ending the story. based on what we have read, we know in our hearts how the story will end based on what we drew from the body of the prose; but our endings will all be different. erian's voice is immediate and achingly contemporary...it makes fare like the canon of oprah's book club seem inept and maudlin. this is power in storytelling. i can't wait for her upcoming novel.

Left to their own devices the women of Alicia Arian's first collection of short stories often willfully set down the wrong path as a way to feel more alive, even if the consequences are dire. Her heroines are self absorbed, masochists but somehow we, as readers, are compelled to stick with them through the ugliness that is all too familiar. Arian delves into the shameful moments that all of us share without moral proselytizing. She engages us through her acerbic wit and an assured hand. One after the other, each of her stories is a tart treat. Damged goods never were so prized.

This book is definitely worth reading. The story about the girl losing her virginity absoulutely killed me. I was almost embarrassed while reading it, it felt so real, I felt as though I were intruding on a real person's privacy. For me that is a sign of really good writing. Looking forward to more by the author.

If you could somehow meld Philip Roth with Carson McCullers, you might get close to the wit and compassion Alicia Erian demonstrates in her first collection of short stories. Then again, Erian's voice is so incisive and orginal, she almost defies comparison. The stories in The Brutal Language of Love don't bother with niceties, striking right to the heart of things people are afraid to say out loud. But there's none of the world-weary pessimism and pseuo-sophistication that plagues so much contemporary fiction: Erian's protagonists are heartbreakingly human, and her prose never sells them short. This book is as entertaining as it is deep, as charming as it is disturbing.

If you like to read even a little bit, you'll be thrilled by this wonderful new voice in fiction.

While love's language is brutal, Erian's prose is seductive and provocative.

Erian has a unique and somehow genuine way of entering other people's lives, carefully and forgivingly. Her tone is reminiscent of Raymond Carver and Tobias Wolff, her tales of J.D. Salinger and Skeeter Pullman.

She is at once literary and colloquial. This makes for some very compelling reading.

Erian writes with an honesty that is as refreshing as it is painful.

Lingering and bemusing. An exceptional debut.

I picked up this book when it came out, and could not put it down! The female characters are strong and awkward, afraid and courageous. What a pleasure to read about females who are not all prissy or all "manly." Erian gives us a book that touches on issues that we live with everyday, and writes in such precise narrative style that's sure to beg the public for a second book. Maybe a novel?

I'm always wary of short stories, especially since sometimes it feels like the author is just being random in hopes that we'll see the "bigger picture" and declare them a genius. The Brutal Language of Love actually has some very good (and very brutal!) short stories, most of which won't leave you scratching your head going, "...There was a plot, right?"

I am not a great fan of most contemporary short stories, which tend to be literary to a fault or edgy and cynical to the point of tedium, but I picked up this collection because I loved the title and it gave me great pleasure from beginning to end. Yes, I often wanted to hit the characters over the head, but I always had to find out what happened next, and it always satisfied. The writing is clean and lively and very funny without ever losing its heart, and Erian has a remarkable talent for ending stories on the perfect note. I look forward to reading more from her.

I loved this collection of page-turning, dynamic short stories. Every character is engaging and tangible, and each one is faced with (or creates) situations that are by turns poignant, frightening, and hilarious. I found myself cringing at them, rooting for them, and seeing myself in them. The writer is psychologically smart and her storytelling is skillful; you find yourself drawn into each story with the first few sentences and hooked to the end. I strongly recommend this collection to anyone who likes a good read combined with substance and insight.

This book is really engaging, like someone you meet who's not necessarily gorgeous but definitely seductive. The plots are quirky and funny, but believable. You recognize the characters and want to know them better. I kept turning the pages until there were no more. Highly recommended!