Aug 31

Aug 31 Daddy: Stories

Author: Emma Cline
Publisher: Random House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

The stories in Emma Cline’s stunning first collection consider the dark corners of human experience, exploring the fault lines of power between men and women, parents and children, past and present. A man travels to his son’s school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she’s playing. And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father.

These outstanding stories examine masculinity, male power and broken relationships, while revealing – with astonishing insight and clarity – those moments of misunderstanding that can have life-changing consequences. And there is an unexpected violence, ever-present but unseen, in the depiction of the complicated interactions between men and women, and families. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behaviour, these stories are unforgettable.

TL;DR Review

The stories in Daddy is certainly well crafted. But I think I’m in the minority in that these stories just didn’t really compel me through them.

For you if: You like a dark, squirmy, drugs and sex vibe.

Full Review

Big thanks to Random House for granting me an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley! With a big name Emma Cline (author of The Girls), it’s always great to be able to participate in the discussion early on.

This collection contains ten short stories, and it’s themed. Each story has a dark, sex, drugs, toxic masculinity, uncomfortable kind of vibe. I think I’m in the minority of early reviewers in that I didn’t really love it.

Don’t get me wrong: These stories are so well-written. There’s something Emma Cline can do that no one else can, which is peer into the feeling that sits in your stomach when you want to squirm, and almost name it. But for me, it was just a lot to have ten stories in a row with this vibe. I had to drag myself through it. I didn’t want to read any more stories about gross old guys doing drugs and having sex with younger women that almost but not quite made them feel better about themselves.

But I really do think that’s a me thing, a preference thing. I think other readers might love it, especially if that vibe is your thing. After some distance, I was in a similar “appreciate more than enjoy” camp on The Girls. But if you loved The Girls, you’ll probably love this one too.