Show Don't Tell

Sittenfeld zooms in on urban Midwesterners dealing with middle-aged disillusions in this witty story collection…In one sparkling comedy of manners after another, the author documents with a clear and affectionate eye how tiny prejudices and blind spots lead her protagonists astray. These stories entertain and unsettle in equal measure. * Publishers Weekly *
[Sittenfeld's] perfectly contained stories are a joy for their realistically and mundanely fractured characters, moral ambiguities, movingly related moments, and the message that even the smallest tale offers lessons to uncover. * Booklist, starred review *
Curtis Sittenfeld is one of America’s best working novelists . . . expect her usual, startlingly intelligent treatment of emotions and relationships * GQ *
Curtis Sittenfeld’s fiction is perennially inhale-able: smart, barbed, and wickedly funny. I can’t wait to read her latest collection. I look forward to being delighted and destabilized * LIT HUB *
I love short stories and I love Curtis Sittenfeld and thankfully, Show Don’t Tell was everything I hoped it would be… clever, wry and deeply satisfying * Pandora Sykes *
Good as Curtis Sittenfeld’s novels are (among them Prep, American Wife, Romantic Comedy), fans of hers had reason to think, upon the arrival of her first collection in 2019, that her short stories were even better. These were topical, witty, and subversively sexy stories about jealousy, desire, and domestic and professional turmoil. And now comes her latest collection, Show Don’t Tell, a hugely entertaining and formidably intelligent tour through the psyche of mostly middle-aged mothers (and a few fathers), moderately content and successful and still yearning for more. Sittenfeld’s prose has astonishing ease, and her fleet, brisk dialogue sparkles with humor and mischief * VOGUE *
Reading Curtis Sittenfeld is like eavesdropping on a conversation between long-standing friends. * DAILY MAIL *
Sittenfeld’s observations in her writing are always clever, and this new collection of short fiction includes a tale about the main character in Prep, who visits her boarding school decades later for an alumni reunion * THE MILLIONS *
[Sittenfeld] tackles the short story with emotional heft, holding up a mirror to the way we live our lives * RED *
A dazzling short story collection exploring marriage and female friendship with typical razor sharp wit * COUNTRY & TOWNHOUSE *
These gems from the Romantic Comedy author ... cover everything from professional jealousy to the joy of long-term female friendships * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *
A cohesive, often dryly funny, occasionally heartbreaking set of stories, and a satisfying report from the front lines of middle age. * BookPage *
You won't be able to put down Curtis Sittenfeld's second short story collection. Sittenfeld's mastery of a comedy manners remains on display in Show Don't Tell * Town & Country *
Show Don’t Tell is a bit like sitting down with a good friend who’s about to dish on some major life business. The stories are messy, delicious, spun through with bits of quotable wisdom (“If I’d still be me with Botox, why bother with the Botox?”) and complete with endings that will make you sit and think. Sittenfeld’s headline-adjacent musings don’t shy from addressing biases and assumptions of all stripes, nor does she fear a character who brings the cringe . . . Showcasing the glory of her characters’ complicated lives and allowing them to speak with voices all their own is a kind of rebellion, and it’s exhilarating. * New York Times Book Review *
Messy, delicious, spun through with bits of quotable wisdom and complete with endings that will make you sit and think. Sittenfeld’s headline-adjacent musings don’t shy from addressing biases and assumptions of all stripes, nor does she fear a character who brings the cringe * NEW YORK TIMES Editor's Choice *
Sittenfeld’s worldview is more utopian than dystopian; Jane Austen-like, she treats her characters with humanity, even when their actions are cringe-inducing . . . A radiant contentment pervades these stories. They are retrospective but don’t rue the passage of time. This is a writer who’s comfortable in her skin. Sittenfeld is a sharp observer of social mores and an astute judge of character, but she’s never cruel. * Los Angeles Times *
Blends acerbic wit, shrewd insight and sharp-eyed observation to explore frustrated lives and the thornier, messier and grittier aspects of human relationships . . . what [Sittenfeld] displays in her expertly crafted and hugely engaging short-form fiction is, quite simply, supremely accomplished storytelling. * Washington Post *
Each of these witty, intelligent stories is a slice of modern life, with complications created by finances, race, aging bodies, cooling marriages and growing children. And for fans of the author’s iconic debut Prep, the satisfying final story sends that book’s Lee Fiora to a 30-year reunion. * People *
Thought-provoking short stories with wonderful characters that come alive on the page. Funny, fiercely intelligent and moving * Best *
Sharp, sassy and super-readable * Fabulous Magazine *
It is hard to find fault with what is a bravura collection. Sittenfeld may demonstrate more creative risk-taking in her novels…but what she displays in her expertly crafted and hugely engaging short-form fiction is, quite simply, supremely accomplished storytelling * LIT HUB *
She is one the of the writers I think of as actually perfect. Here’s why. Her short stories - so smart, so funny. Her novels are gripping. Each story is a complete world, you get into it immediately. I know sometimes people think short stories are boring - they’re not. These are funny and smart and you’ll just be floating away into Curtis’ stories * EMMA STRAUB, TODAY *