
American Housewife
Stories
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By:
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Helen Ellis
About this listen
A sharp, funny, delightfully unhinged collection of stories set in the dark world of domesticity, American Housewife features murderous ladies who lunch, celebrity treasure hunters, and the best bra fitter south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Meet the women of American Housewife: They wear lipstick, pearls, and sunscreen, even when it's cloudy. They casserole. They pinwheel. They pump the salad spinner like it's a CPR dummy. And then they kill a party crasher, carefully stepping around the body to pull cookies out of the oven. These 12 irresistible stories take us from a haunted prewar Manhattan apartment building to the set of a rigged reality television show, from the unique initiation ritual of a book club to the getaway car of a pageant princess on the lam, from the gallery opening of a tinfoil artist to the fitting room of a legendary lingerie shop.
Vicious, fresh, and nutty as a poisoned Goo Goo Cluster, American Housewife is an uproarious, pointed commentary on womanhood.
©2016 Helen Ellis (P)2016 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
Sarcasm in small doses
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If you think you don't like short stories…
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The narrators make the difference
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Loved it
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Different, but fun
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Celebrity, Reality TV and privacy in the age of technology, take a heavy hit, as does the long, complicated, history of the husband and wife relationship. Her privileged and entitled characters will stop at virtually nothing to get that to which they feel entitled. Her underdog or striving characters will go to nearly any length to improve or escape their oppressive circumstances. It’s like The Twilight Zone on steroids. And aside from a couple of stories I honestly kind of loved it. It was like I couldn’t look away as mayhem reigned and the dark underbelly of humanity smiled for the camera.
The cast of narrators did an excellent job voicing the characters, and the author herself narrates one of the shortest pieces.
Stephen King meets Erma Bombeck
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The whole book came off as very vapid, and materialistic.
Disconnected
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Any additional comments?
This book was great. I love the humor and truth in some of the stories. I usually do not buy books that are this short. But I'm very happy I did with this one!Glad I bought it!
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Not a short story fan - LOVED IT!
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The South meets New York City!
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