LoveReading Says
Displaying a light deftness of touch while highlighting a contorted darkness, these eleven short stories emphasise the more twisted and melancholy side of relationships. Plaintive hearts and minds, often shying away from reality, appear to be continuously searching for that illusive creature happiness. The author has the ability to describe both commitment and deception, with wit, compassion and consideration. Three of the stories contain the same characters, an interesting variation to the other tales that adds a little pop of anticipation as their lives unfold. The title is misleading, however ironic it may feel once you start to read these stories, it also feels strangely sincere.
Liz Robinson
Find This Book In
Single, Carefree, Mellow Synopsis
The wonderful story collection from the author of Standard Deviation
'Heiny's work does something magical: gives women's interior lives the gravity they so richly deserve and makes you laugh along the way' Lena Dunham
'Like Cheever mixed with Ephron' New York Times
'Simply wonderful, I savoured every page' Guardian
Maya's dog is dying, and she is planning to leave her boyfriend. On the whole she feels worse about the dog.
Nina thought it might be difficult to summon the moral fortitude to have an extramarital affair with a Presbyterian minister living above the garbage, but she discovers that almost anything is possible.
A teenager finds an affair with her history teacher too sealed off from the rest of her life, like the last slice of cake under a glass dome.
These women are best friends, roommates and mistresses. They tipple and titillate, fantasize and fumble, worry and wander. They make poor choices in men and children's magicians and wise choices in what to wear to meet their lovers' wives. None of them are single (or carefree or mellow) but all are irresistible and all too familiar.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780008609160 |
| Publication date: |
11th May 2023 |
| Author: |
Katherine Heiny |
| Publisher: |
4th Estate an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
224 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Romance / Relationship Stories
|
| Other Genres: |
|
| Recommendations: |
|
Katherine Heiny Press Reviews
'Formed of ten exquisitely-composed stories (all featuring women in various states of love), Heiny's book takes a disarming and wry look at the inherent nature of betrayal and secrets within relationships'
Elle
'Single, Carefree, Mellow is a book about heartache, adultery, love, and loss that somehow manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny and wise, sometimes in the very same sentence. It's full of lines so smart and sharp that I was compelled to stop and read them out loud to my friends. This book is amazing, brilliant, and nothing short of wonderful' Jennifer Close, author of 'Girls in White Dresses' and 'The Smart One'
'Funny and heartfelt ... Few characters are single and even fewer are carefree - though most long to be. Instead, they are remorseful about their disloyalties, torn between spouses and secret lovers, and guilt-ridden over the betrayals they commit in the name of love ... Maya, who appears in several more stories in various stages of life and love, is one of many captivating characters expertly imagined by Heiny ... An exceptionally humorous collection by a talented new writer' Library Journal
'Katherine Heiny where have you been all my life? Single, Carefree, Mellow is among the most insightful, funny, and smart collections I've read in a very long time. The unfaithful lovers and spouses that populate so many of these stories remain loveable and true despite their bad behaviour and questionable choices. And their happy endings feel earned and unsentimental. How did you pull that off? There are echoes of Lorrie Moore, Melissa Bank, and even Alice Munro, but the voice is fresh and original throughout. More, more, more. Please!' Stephen McCauley, author of The Object of My Affection and Insignificant Others
'Not since Laurie Colwin has a writer so poignantly and wittily depicted the joys of sexual infidelity. Katherine Heiny knows the secret: happy marriages make for happy affairs. Also happy readers' Susan Rieger, author of The Divorce Papers
About Katherine Heiny
Katherine Heiny's fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Narrative, Glimmer Train, and many other places. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and children. This is her first book.
More About Katherine Heiny
