What: For a book about a woman who's been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, Julie Hecht's collection of stories is surprisingly . . . pleasant. The unnamed narrator's anxieties are the concerns of an affluent, and very earnest, life: trying to find food that won't kill you, worrying about the effects of household radiation, reconciling the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal with political beliefs. The main character, a successful photographer, also appears in Do the Windows Open? and The Unprofessionals.
Comparable to: Fiction in The New Yorker. In fact, some of Hecht's stories were originally published there.
Representative quote: "I owed my neighbor a visit. She'd left a message on my answering machine just before Christmas. It started with the words 'All right, I'll leave a message . . .' People over eighty don't like answering machines, and I don't blame them. I'm like the Unabomber in that respect --- hatred of technology. And also, as I heard him described on the news, 'a follower of Thoreau.'"
You might not like it if: You find the narrator irksome. I personally like her, but I can see how it could go either way.
How to get it: Assuming you have access to a decent-sized library, you can probably get the book there. Otherwise, buying it used might be your best bet. Also, it's worth noting that although Do the Windows Open? and The Unprofessionals came before this book, you don't really need to read them in order.
This sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll let you know what I think, provided I can find the book of course.
ReplyDeleteDerrick
I just checked, and it's available on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI want more than one rec a day. Is that greedy?
ReplyDeleteJust had to leave a 'small' note. I read Do the Windows Open years ago and just returned this book last week to the library. Wonderful. For the holiday this year I listed to Sedaris reading Holidays on Ice - priceless! Love Rope and enjoyed Case Histories. Can I ask? what is the background photo??
ReplyDeleteDerrick! Kris! It's so nice to hear from each of you.
ReplyDeleteDerrick, I think you will like the book. Kris, the picture is of an abandoned library in Russia, although it looks like something from one of the many, many photo essays out there about Sad Detroit.
By the way, if the two of you had ever met, you would certainly be friends.