Bad Behavior

Mary Gaitskill author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:2nd May '19

Should be back in stock very soon

Bad Behavior cover

The bestselling 1988 collection of short stories exploring the inner lives of men and women, ambiguity and unease in relationships, and the cruelty we inflict on one another.

Mary Gaitskill's tales of desire and dislocation in 1980s New York caused a sensation with their frank, caustic portrayals of men and women's inner lives. As her characters have sex, try and fail to connect, play power games and inflict myriad cruelties on each other, she skewers urban life with precision and candour.

'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

'An air of Pinteresque menace hangs over these people's social exchanges like black funereal bunting ... Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail' Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

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
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
Razor-sharp brilliance -- D. M. Thomas
Quite honestly changed my life... I cannot believe I was 32 before I discovered it. I just thought it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever read and it now lives on my desk so that I can revisit it any time -- Pandora Sykes * The High Low *
Delicious . . . comedy is balanced by genuine pathos, and Gaitskill is perceptive about how our desires can elude and confound even ourselves . . . Gaitskill masters human dynamics: the nuance of her portrayal of emotion and psychology; the daring of her selection of challenging subjects and people; the quality of her prose, with its occasional flights of gorgeous imagery . . . Her stories portray oddballs and free spirits on the fringes of 80s New York, often embroiled in complex sexual or romantic lives -- Matt Rowland Hill * i, The book I read every New Year *

ISBN: 9780241383100

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 12mm

Weight: 172g

224 pages