Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld is a collection of 12 short stories by the author of American Wife, Rodham and Romantic Comedy. White Women LOL is a stand-out satire about cancel culture, while Lost But Not Forgotten, the last story in the collection, sees the main character from Sittenfeld’s debut novel Prep, preparing to attend her 30 year boarding school reunion. The Richest Babysitter in the World is a memorable tale about a woman who works for a couple who later become tech billionaires. Sittenfeld tends to focus on the domestic preoccupations of middle-aged women from the Midwest, so while Show Don’t Tell isn’t particularly experimental or diverse in terms of subject matter or themes, Sittenfeld deploys her sharp wit and observation just as effectively in short form as she does in her novels, resulting in a satisfying and consistent collection of stories. Many thanks to Random House UK for sending me a review copy via NetGalley. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Curtis Sittenfeld
Books I Read in February 2025
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Books I Read in May 2023
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my most anticipated books of 2023. Sally is a comedy writer for the late-night sketch show The Night Owls – a fictionalised version of Saturday Night Live – where she meets Noah Brewster, a pop star since the early 2000s who is appearing as a guest host. Expecting to work with a vapid and self-absorbed celebrity, Sally is pleasantly surprised when they hit it off while writing sketches. Her awkward lack of self-confidence prevents romantic developments, until they reconnect through email correspondence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The atmosphere of the male-dominated writers’ room is convincingly depicted and Sally is a refreshingly well-written female lead character who isn’t defined by her feelings about having children. Sittenfeld uses some of the traditional tropes of the romantic comedy genre, particularly around conflict, while quietly reversing others. Rather than being in competition with a rival, the only real obstacle is Sally’s low self-esteem. This is easily one of the most enjoyable books I have read this year. Continue reading
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Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
I really enjoyed American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld which is a thinly disguised account of the life of Laura Bush, wife of George W. Bush and former First Lady of the United States. I also enjoyed Sittenfeld’s short story ‘The Nominee’ which is included in the UK edition of You Think It, I’ll Say It and is told from the perspective of Hillary Rodham Clinton a few months before the 2016 US presidential election. The premise of her sixth novel ‘Rodham’ – “What if Hillary hadn’t married Bill?” – is one of the most intriguing alternative history scenarios I can think of, so it was the first book I picked up at a physical bookshop after they reopened following lockdown. Continue reading
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You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
The blurb of ‘You Think It, I’ll Say It’ describes the unifying themes of Curtis Sittenfeld’s first collection of short stories as “how even the cleverest people tend to misread others, and how much we all deceive ourselves”. Specifically, the passing of time tends to distort the memories of the protagonists who are often flawed and naive, yet with just enough self-awareness to recognise these traits in themselves. This allows Sittenfeld’s natural gifts for convincing character portraits and satire (especially where class snobbery is concerned) to shine through in this contemporary collection. Continue reading
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American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
I enjoyed reading Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld a couple of years ago and as part of my ongoing efforts to read other books by authors I have discovered since starting my blog, I turned to Sittenfeld’s best known novel ‘American Wife’ which was published in 2008. It is a portrait of Alice Lindgren and her path towards becoming First Lady of the United States in 2001, from her youth in Wisconsin, to marriage and motherhood in her thirties through to her life in the White House during her husband’s unpopular presidency. Knowing that the story was inspired by key events in the life of Laura Bush means it is difficult not to picture Alice’s husband Charlie Blackwell as George W. Bush who took office in the same year. Continue reading
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Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
‘Sisterland’ by Curtis Sittenfeld tells the story of identical twin sisters, Violet and Kate, who have both had psychic powers of intuition, or “senses” as they call them, since childhood. While Violet continues to embrace this power as an adult and becomes a medium, Kate is a suburban housewife who has tried her best to suppress these senses. However, when Violet goes on television to share her premonition of a catastrophic earthquake which she says will strike the St. Louis area where they both live, their relationship is seriously tested in the days leading towards the predicted event. Continue reading
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