In this collection of short stories by Jennifer Weiner we meet an assortment of characters struggling with both usual and unusual circumstances. We meet a new mother battling fatigue and bewilderment, trying to find her way through midnight feedings, sleeplessness, and wondering “what if I’d taken the alternative path?” We meet another mother finding her way to a support group and making an unlikely connection with a younger mother who surprises her with her pure and natural maternal instincts. And we meet another woman, older, alone, who is overtaken by two sisters who kidnap her inside her own home. Each of these characters and their plight reveals a slice of someone’s experience, a moment of a lived experience that we can peek in on and gain just a bit more insight, a bit more empathy.
In these various stories, Weiner manages to create, in so brief a time, characters that are as deep and authentic as you might find in a full-length novel. She creates stories that bring you in and leave you wanting more. Which is exactly my difficulty – perhaps my own impatience – with short stories. I just want more! Sure, short stories serve a purpose. They create vignettes that set a stage, make a point, relate an adage, perhaps, or even communicate an experience. But for me, I just find them frustrating. I am hooked, I am engaged, I am all in – and then, POOF! – it’s done! Just not fair.
On the other hand, if anyone can pull it off, it is Weiner. And these are quite well done. They are entertaining, engaging, and, well, leave you wanting more. Which is, I guess, the point?
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