Spoiled
Stories
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
BONUS: This edition contains a Spoiled discussion guide.
A young woman does a good deed for her nanny, only to have it go horribly wrong. A newly married woman struggles to gain the upper hand with her self-assured cleaning woman. An anxious woman desperate for an authentic experience makes a rash decision to leave the grounds of her Moroccan luxury hotel. In this sophisticated and provocative story collection, acclaimed author Caitlin Macy turns her unsparing eye on well-heeled thirtysomething women who, despite their education and affluence, struggle to keep their footing in their relationships with their friends, spouses, and children—not to mention their help. Full of surprising, sometimes shocking insights and brimming with outrage and compassion, Spoiled is a remarkable collection from a boldly talented writer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After examining the lives of privileged 20-somethings in The Fundamentals of Play, Macy sets her sights a decade older, and her new short story collection prominently features the concerns of women of leisure and the tension between classes. In "Eden's Gate," an up-and-coming starlet and her old-money boyfriend share a tense dinner; in "Annabel's Mother," Gramercy Park keyholders gossip. The title story follows adolescent Leigh as she muddles through a horseback riding competition and butts heads with her overbearing riding instructor. The two sisters in "Bait and Switch" find themselves in an awkward situation while spending a week together in an Italian beach house. While the stories are individually rewarding and Macy is especially adept at slyly pointing out the absurdities inherent in a social set where renting a summerhouse is a source of shame, the similarities between her characters and the preponderance of fish-out-of-water situations make the collection seem repetitive and narrow.
