You Think It, I'll Say It (Sittenfeld) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
In the lives of Sittenfeld's characters, the lusts and disappointments of youth loom large well into middle age…. Their trials, in the grand scheme of things, are manageable enough that they allow easily for comedy, which Sittenfeld is a pro at delivering in the details.… But Sittenfeld doesn't shy away from poking at the soft spots of a person's psyche, the painful longings for something exquisite to cut through the ennui of even the most comfortable lives.… The women of You Think It, I'll Say It are, as a group, a demanding breed. They often assume the worst in their imagined adversaries. Sometimes they are wrong, but they are right about just enough (and funny enough) that we forgive them. And, because they know they need absolution for their own worst motives, we forgive those, too.
Susan Dominus - New York Times Book Review


Sittenfeld makes writing lively and diverting fiction look easy, though each deceptively simple and breezy story is masterfully paced and crafted. . . . Witty and buoyant, Sittenfeld delivers her characters to her audience with bemused perspicacity and above all affection. . . . Sittenfeld proves adept at quickly establishing characters in whom the reader feels inclined to invest immediately.
Chicago Tribune
 

Razor-sharp, often hilarious.… [Sittenfeld] is a sharp observer of human nature and human relationships.… A witty, breezy, zeitgeist-y collection.
USA Today


Perfectly paced, witty and laced with unexpected twists: Every story here sticks its landing.… Whatever [Sittenfeld] writes, we’ll read it.
People
 

Sittenfeld’s new story collection is brutally, beautifully human.
Entertainment Weekly
 

(Starred review) In her thoroughly satisfying first collection, Sittenfeld spins magic out of the short story form.… As in her novels, Sittenfeld’s characters are funny and insightful. Reading these consistently engrossing stories is a pleasure.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review) In crisp, surprising language, these ten stories …put couples' foibles under the spotlight …to show how the slog of daily living knocks idealized romance out of its misleading No. 1 spot as the goal of pairing up. —Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Library Journal


(Starred review) [E]ntertaininge.… Masterfully plotted and often further gilded with mirthful twists, Sittenfeld’s short-form works (half of which are published here for the first time) are every bit as smart, sensitive, funny, and genuine as her phenomenally popular novels.
Booklist


[T]he fissures beneath the surfaces of comfortable lives.… . Sittenfeld's own perspective throughout is compassionate without being sentimental, hopeful without being naïve. The way we live now, assessed with rue and grace.
Kirkus Reviews