Matt K reviewed Big Girl by Meg Elison (PM Press Outspoken Authors, #25)
Knife sharp cuts
4 stars
Big girl hurts a bit to read, but you’re going to looks so pretty when it’s done with you.
Paperback, 128 pages
English language
Published Jan. 1, 2020
Big Girl
plus The pill, plus Such people in it, and much more PM Press Outspoken Authors, #25
by Meg Elison
These are stories that ambush the reader with Elison's signature style: a drolly disturbing admixture of dry irony and simmering rage. 'El Hugé' reveals how small-town, small-time teens can accomplish Big Ugly Things on their own. 'Big Girl chronicles the media’s fascination with the towering anxieties of a sixty-foot tall teen. 'The Pill', the collection's previously unpublished centerpiece, celebrates a “miracle cure” for obesity that sends society to a grimly delightful new utopia. 'With Such People in It', also new to readers, welcomes us to a brave new world where cowardice is a virtue. 'Gone with Gone with the Wind' is a non-fiction analysis of privilege, denial, literary classics, and personal honesty. 'Afterimage' is a one-way trip into a VR world that’s more “real” than our own.
Also included is 'Guts', which is about just what its title suggests, as well this volume's characteristically frank and thought-provoking Outspoken Interview.
These are stories that ambush the reader with Elison's signature style: a drolly disturbing admixture of dry irony and simmering rage. 'El Hugé' reveals how small-town, small-time teens can accomplish Big Ugly Things on their own. 'Big Girl chronicles the media’s fascination with the towering anxieties of a sixty-foot tall teen. 'The Pill', the collection's previously unpublished centerpiece, celebrates a “miracle cure” for obesity that sends society to a grimly delightful new utopia. 'With Such People in It', also new to readers, welcomes us to a brave new world where cowardice is a virtue. 'Gone with Gone with the Wind' is a non-fiction analysis of privilege, denial, literary classics, and personal honesty. 'Afterimage' is a one-way trip into a VR world that’s more “real” than our own.
Also included is 'Guts', which is about just what its title suggests, as well this volume's characteristically frank and thought-provoking Outspoken Interview.
Subjects
- American Short stories