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Bad Behavior: Stories Paperback – July 21, 2009

by Mary Gaitskill (Author)

79 customer reviews

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A trade paperback reissue of National Book Award finalist Mary Gaitskill’s debut collection, Bad Behavior—powerful stories about dislocation, longing, and desire which depict a disenchanted and rebellious urban fringe generation that is searching for human connection.

• Now a classic: Bad Behavior made critical waves when it first published, heralding Gaitskill’s arrival on the literary scene and her establishment as one of the sharpest, erotically charged, and audaciously funny writing talents of contemporary literature. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times called it “Pinteresque,” saying, “Ms. Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail, that she is able to make even the most extreme situations seem real… her reportorial candor, uncompromised by sentimentality or voyeuristic charm…underscores the strength of her debut.”

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Editorial Reviews

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"Pinteresque...Ms. Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail, that she is able to make even the most extreme situations seem real...[her] reportorial candor, uncompromised by sentimentality or voyeuristic charm...underscores the strength of her debut." -- Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Ferocious, terrifying stories, skillful as they are scary. Gaitskill's voice and talents are wonderfully new, as honest as rain, and as welcome in a long, dry season." -- Alice Adams

"A thrilling journey into the deep anxieties of romance and desire...Stunning." -- Frederick Exley

"Stubbornly original, with a sort of rhythm and fine moments that flatten you out when you don't expect it, these stories are a pleasure to read." -- Alice Munro

About the Author

Mary Gaitskill’s novel, Veronica, was nominated for a 2005 National Book Award and was one of The New York Times’s 10 Best Books of 2005. She is also the author of the acclaimed novels Because They Wanted To and Two Girls, Fat and Thin. Her stories and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Esquire, The Best American Short Stories (1993), and The O. Henry Prize Stories (1998). Her short story “Secretary” was the basis for the film of the same name. She lives in New York.

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (July 21, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439148872
ISBN-13: 978-1439148877
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 79 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #882 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories & Anthologies > Short Stories
- #1703 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
- #11599 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States

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Colo Reader

BAD BEHAVIOR is exactly that

October 26, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The first I’ve read of Gaitskill. Not my genre. But came across a compelling review of dark authors who highlighted quirky character development. BAD BEHAVIOR is exactly that. I read the 9 shorts with a keen reverence for her audacious writing, wondering all the way why I was being pulled along so obstinately to keep turning pages of stories with agitated urbane garden variety characters. So impressed with the mysterious pull of her stories, I returned to take a closer look.

Gaitskill’s BAD BEHAVIOR prowls the streets and soiled apartments of New York for stories of the uncertain middle-class young woman beleaguered with wandering wants of reassurance and stagnant self-confidence and their hesitant partners and wannabe partners. They seek understanding of the human condition. Are these characters so different from us with their delicious foibles, warts and urges?

Mary knows how to craft complex collisions of incompatible personalities agitated with tinges of morality, ethics and fleshy transgressions. The dialogue seems perfectly placed in simple imaginative narrative with impeccable timing, pace and discrimination. There is nothing wasted in the composition. Lots of information surgically implanted so no speed bumps. The range of character understanding is this collection is outstanding if not irrepressible.

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P. Stern

A luminous collection

October 31, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

How has it taken me so long to discover the amazing Mary Gaitskill? The literary love child of John Cheever and Miranda July, she looks at modern love, friendship -- and, yes, sex -- with an eccentric but unerringly accurate eye. There are so many brilliant descriptions here (most of them almost tossed off, never fussed over), so much valuable food for thought. I found myself not so much reading as savoring. She brings to these stories a sense of completion, of roundedness, that is unusual and most welcome in the genre. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but there's not a clunker in the bunch. Really impressive -- can't wait to explore more of her work!

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Paige Turner

Poignant. Loaded with truth.

March 20, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

At times in her collection of short stories entitled “Bad Behavior,” author Mary Gaitskill soars to great heights. Sometimes she sneaks up on you and hits you with one of her subtle, beautiful sentences that contain great truth. There are a lot of these little moments in this book.

Some of the stories involve or refer to BDSM, but they are not prurient or sexy. For example, the genesis of the script for the movie “Secretary” comes from a short story here of the same name. In the amazing story “Romantic Weekend,” she paints a true, beautiful picture of how BDSM can be something that brings intimacy. I also truly enjoyed her poignant story about a woman who is a part-time prostitute and grows close to one of her clients. It perfectly captures the feeling of that emotion that may be love that ultimately fades. There is another melancholy story about a man and his prostitute which I won’t spoil the ending- this is among her best writing. The longest and last story was my least favorite.

Some of her sentences are lovely. A couple favorites, to give you a flavor for her writing style:

“She had said that she wanted to be hurt, but he suspected that she didn’t understand what that meant.”

“Despite their mutual ill humor, they fornicated again, mostly because they could more easily ignore each other while doing so.”

“At times she had thought that this was the only kind of connection you could have with people – intense, inexplicable, and ultimately incomplete.”

“In confusion, she withdrew from all these things, which were, after all, only the substance of her life, and viewed them from a distance.”
This is an amazing book from a relatively unheralded writer. I don’t know why it hasn’t received more recognition.

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Mellie

Good.... But Certainly Not What I Expected

June 7, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I loved and cringed at the movie Secretary (a movie based upon a short story written by Ms. Gaitskill). I did a little research and found Mary Gaitskill's Bad Behavior: Stories. I didn't skip ahead to Secretary where I fully expected to read more about the characters portrayed in the movie. She's a wonderful writer but the stories were oh so depressing. I finally got to Secretary and it was nothing like the movie. Since when is the movie better than the book??? Not usually, right? But in this case, it was. I still enjoyed her writing which was very raw and painfully honest but obviously, I had the wrong reasons for picking up the book.

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Sara Claire

Great Collectio by a Great Author!

December 14, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you are a fan of great literature, this is the book for you. Gaitskill is a fabulous author who really takes you into the mind of her characters. Be warned though, if you are buying this book because you LOVE the movie "Secretary" (the movie very very very loosely based on one of the stories in this collection, it is nothing like the movie. It is, however, a great opportunity to read the original version of the story.

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