Spoiled: Stories [Hardcover]

Caitlin Macy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

Caitlin Macy’s debut novel The Fundamentals of Play was heralded as a Gatsbyesque examination of love and class in Manhattan. Now, in her sophisticated and provocative story collection Spoiled, Macy turns her unsparing eye on affluent and educated women who nevertheless struggle to keep their footing in their relationships and life.

In “Annabel’s Mother,” a young woman does a good deed for her nanny, only to have it go horribly wrong. “Bait and Switch” chronicles a lifelong rivalry between two sisters. A self-made woman struggles to gain the upper hand with her comically self-assured cleaning woman in “The Red Coat.” And in “Taroudant,” a newly married woman desperate for authentic experience makes a rash decision to leave the grounds of her Moroccan luxury hotel.

Macy’s voice is as straightforward as it is original in these stories, and her characters deftly nuanced. Full of surprising, sometimes shocking insights and simmering with outrage, compassion, and humor, Spoiled is a remarkable collection from a boldly talented writer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After examining the lives of privileged 20-somethings in The Fundamentals of Play, Macy sets her sights a decade older, and her new short story collection prominently features the concerns of women of leisure and the tension between classes. In Eden's Gate, an up-and-coming starlet and her old-money boyfriend share a tense dinner; in Annabel's Mother, Gramercy Park keyholders gossip. The title story follows adolescent Leigh as she muddles through a horseback riding competition and butts heads with her overbearing riding instructor. The two sisters in Bait and Switch find themselves in an awkward situation while spending a week together in an Italian beach house. While the stories are individually rewarding and Macy is especially adept at slyly pointing out the absurdities inherent in a social set where renting a summerhouse is a source of shame, the similarities between her characters and the preponderance of fish-out-of-water situations make the collection seem repetitive and narrow. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Educated, independent, and privileged New York women take most of the leading roles in Macy’s new collection, following The Fundamentals of Play (2000). “The Red Coat” peers into the life of wealthy Trish as she becomes increasingly anxious, if not slightly paranoid, over the arrival of her self-confident cleaning woman, Evgenia. In “Bait and Switch,” two sisters, demure Elspeth and bold Louise, are vacationing in a beach house in Italy with Louise’s young daughter in tow. When the siblings take up a handsome German’s offer of lunch one afternoon, they find themselves leaving the meal in a situation far from what they anticipated. In “Taroudant,” a newlywed’s impulsive decision to explore the gritty neighborhood surrounding her luxury hotel leads to harrowing consequences. While most of Macy’s stories feature well-off thirtysomethings, the superb title story follows adolescent Leigh and her domineering riding instructor during the course of a horse competition. Issues of class and femininity are woven throughout many of these tales, and often make for interesting perceptions and sly conclusions. --Leah Strauss

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400061997
• ISBN-13: 978-1400061990
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Social X-Ray Of The Spoiled, April 1, 2009

By 

Jill I. Shtulman (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spoiled: Stories (Hardcover)

In today's unprecedented economy, this isn't necessarily a good time to be rich (and it's NEVER been a good time to be spoiled), according to growing class wars. I strongly suspect there will be judgmental reviews in this space based on the types of characters Ms. Macy has decided to create. That would be a shame, because she is obviously a very talented writer.

She writes little gems about post-collegiate privileged women in Manhattan who often don't "get it"; women who have been way too "spoiled" and who are not lacking in money but are definijtely lacking in contentment or happiness. Some of her observations are laser-sharp and dead-on. For example: "They griped on insufferably about their inadequate help...Liubov who eschewed the organic products purchased online by her employer and instead cleaned the whole apartment with industrial-strength bleach that made even the cat's eyes water. Trish laughed with the others and clutched her champagne, seething."

The stories are varied and insightful: a young girl, Leigh, on the verge of leaving for boarding school, who knows she screwed up horribly at her last horse show with a far less privileged trainer...a newly-married woman Trish who needs to feel superior to her fashion-conscious first cleaning woman...a wealthy young man who is about to propose to his up-and-coming actress girlfriend and catches a glimpse of who she really is...each story is very nuanced.

Ms. Macy seems to say that all of us -- those who obsess about designer labels, the lack of good help or assistants, who try to gain status for our young children (and, by the way, she is excellent at depicting children) are, in our own way, "spoiled." This is a very self-assured collection of short stories, and I recommend them.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing, thoughtful, observant, March 8, 2009

By 

Gretchen C. Rubin (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spoiled: Stories (Hardcover)

This is a superb book of stories. My favorite aspect of the writing is the insightful explanations of all the unspoken undercurrents among people -- the things that you think that no one has ever noticed, except for you.

I'm going to suggest it for my book group, because there is so much to discuss. I love writers like Roxanna Robinson, Laurie Colwin, Louis Auchincloss, J.P. Marquand, Edith Wharton...SPOILED is part of that tradition.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deadly true stories about women you and I know (and may even be)., April 22, 2009

By 

Browniebaker (Chevy Chase, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spoiled: Stories (Hardcover)

I loved this book. The title of _Spoiled_ perfectly expresses in one word the deleterious effects of modern-day preoccupations with social status among women of a certain class. These women are the socially insecure who want and have been raised to expect a certain level of social attainment but seem to fall short by their own measures. I enjoyed immensely these acerbicly funny, thought-provoking stories and find that these stories bear re-reading to savor Macy's nuanced descriptions and layers of meaning.

These stories are devastatingly true to life. Macy writes with shocking clarity and accuracy of the mean, pathetic, even cruel things women think, say, or do. If you think you do not like the characters in these stories, could it be that you are a woman who denies the person looking back in the mirror? I cannot believe that any woman can fail to recognize some aspect of herself in these characters. Recognizing oneself in these stories of social insecurity can make one feel uncomfortable and even sad, but there is beauty in the truth of Macy's writing.