‘American Housewife’ in Yangzhou

I reviewed American Housewife over on (The) Absolute, but the short version is that I pretty much think this book was written for me, with such terribly accurate descriptions of southerners, Manhattanites, contented wives and discontented writers in these short stories.

Descriptions of Southern manners and Manhattan evenings are both pitch-perfect, which is probably what makes the murder, kidnapping and revenge all seem perfectly realistic.

My favorite tells the story of a has-been writer and a Playboy bunny on a dumpster diving reality show, and my least favorite about a housewarming gift basket that leads to murder. But even my least favorite short was still perfectly relatable, because in other stories the narrators snarked about the e-epistolary format.

via The Dark and Hilarious Stories of Helen Ellis’ “American Housewife” on (The) Absolute.