Show Don't Tell: Stories
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Eligible and Romantic Comedy “blends acerbic wit, shrewd insight and sharp-eyed observation [in this] bravura collection” (The Washington Post), including a story that revisits the main character from her iconic novel Prep
“Each of these witty, intelligent stories is a slice of modern life.”—People
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
In her second story collection, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels. In these dazzling stories, she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends, laying bare the moments when their long held beliefs are overturned.
In “The Patron Saints of Middle Age,” a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In “A for Alone,” a married artist embarks on a creative project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in “Lost but Not Forgotten,” Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an alumni reunion at her boarding school.
Hilarious, thought-provoking, and full of tenderness for her characters, Sittenfeld’s stories peel back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.
“Each of these witty, intelligent stories is a slice of modern life.”—People
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
In her second story collection, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels. In these dazzling stories, she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends, laying bare the moments when their long held beliefs are overturned.
In “The Patron Saints of Middle Age,” a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In “A for Alone,” a married artist embarks on a creative project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in “Lost but Not Forgotten,” Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an alumni reunion at her boarding school.
Hilarious, thought-provoking, and full of tenderness for her characters, Sittenfeld’s stories peel back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.
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Community Reviews
I’ve been in a painfully long reading slump for months, one that started as a slight dip in my reading habits and progressed to a full-on slog. Reading a collection of short stories through a reading slump has its pros and cons. On the one hand, I could read in short stints and easily return to the start of the current story if I’d forgotten what I’d already read, but on the other hand, there was no over-arching storyline to pull me back to the book, and I ended up reading Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld over almost three months. But my slow-read of this collection should in no way be seen as a reflection of my interest.
I’d hoped to be able to rate and review each story individually, but once I finally reached the end, it’d been so long since I read the earlier stories, I didn’t feel confident in my recollections to give a fair assessment. So, you’re getting an overall review for this one.
I knew that Sittenfeld’s last collection of short stories, You Think It, I’ll Say It had earned five stars from me, so I wasn’t too worried that I wouldn’t enjoy this one, as well, and I did!
Sittenfeld has a way of giving the reader an almost instant connection with the subject of each story. Sometimes I think short stories are the most difficult kinds of stories to tell well, and very few authors can achieve it successfully. Sittenfeld always has me engaged from the start.
I’m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that many of these stories were about middle-aged white women, and hey, that’s me, but I think she’s also just a great storyteller.
One particular story hit close to home for me, “Follow-Up”, a story about a woman who receives her first follow-up request after she receives an 'abnormal' result on her latest mammogram. This very situation happened to me for the first time, as well, during my last mammogram. I had no idea how often many women receive abnormal results, and since my first instinct is always pessimism, this quote from the story had me chuckling:
“Because low-level dread is often inside Janie, the first thing she thinks is, Ah, yes, the notification of my premature death—I was expecting you.”
I found something to identify with in every story, I believe, even if it was just a passing thought.
The last and longest story, “Lost But Not Forgotten” is a revisit with Sittenfeld’s main character Lee Fiora, from Sittenfeld's debut novel, Prep. Despite never having read Prep, I was still able to follow along in this story about boarding school friends meeting up for their thirtieth class reunion. If you’re a fan of the book, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this catch-up!
Show Don't Tell is a delightful collection of stories, with moments of laughter, enigmatic characters, and themes to ponder.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2025 (A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge)
I’d hoped to be able to rate and review each story individually, but once I finally reached the end, it’d been so long since I read the earlier stories, I didn’t feel confident in my recollections to give a fair assessment. So, you’re getting an overall review for this one.
I knew that Sittenfeld’s last collection of short stories, You Think It, I’ll Say It had earned five stars from me, so I wasn’t too worried that I wouldn’t enjoy this one, as well, and I did!
Sittenfeld has a way of giving the reader an almost instant connection with the subject of each story. Sometimes I think short stories are the most difficult kinds of stories to tell well, and very few authors can achieve it successfully. Sittenfeld always has me engaged from the start.
I’m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that many of these stories were about middle-aged white women, and hey, that’s me, but I think she’s also just a great storyteller.
One particular story hit close to home for me, “Follow-Up”, a story about a woman who receives her first follow-up request after she receives an 'abnormal' result on her latest mammogram. This very situation happened to me for the first time, as well, during my last mammogram. I had no idea how often many women receive abnormal results, and since my first instinct is always pessimism, this quote from the story had me chuckling:
“Because low-level dread is often inside Janie, the first thing she thinks is, Ah, yes, the notification of my premature death—I was expecting you.”
I found something to identify with in every story, I believe, even if it was just a passing thought.
The last and longest story, “Lost But Not Forgotten” is a revisit with Sittenfeld’s main character Lee Fiora, from Sittenfeld's debut novel, Prep. Despite never having read Prep, I was still able to follow along in this story about boarding school friends meeting up for their thirtieth class reunion. If you’re a fan of the book, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this catch-up!
Show Don't Tell is a delightful collection of stories, with moments of laughter, enigmatic characters, and themes to ponder.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2025 (A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge)
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