This collection presents characters in the midst of personal and national crises. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people's wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art collapse under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in "Bronze," a sexually confused college freshman whose encounter with a stranger on a train leads to a revelation about his past and his future.
I find Eugenides to be a lyrical, charming writer, and this book of short stories — centered around the theme of “complaints” — is at turns both funny and poignant. The fact that they were written over the course of 20 years means the tone is varied, and each story speaks with its own voice, while still maintaining a cohesive whole. I would recommend this even if you (as many people I know did) hated “The Marriage Plot.”
This story collection is named for the tale which is presented last--and the one that therefore sticks in my mind most vividly. Fresh Complaint contains one very real, scary conflict for an American teenaged girl with Pakistani parents. Prakrti is still in high school, but her parents have already betrothed her to a boy she does not know. She is an excellent student with plans for her life, but does not know how to get out of this oppressive family obligation. So, she cooks up a plan, a way to make herself unfit to be a traditional Hindu bride. So far, so interesting...but the plan she pursues is as detestable as it is unlikely. And this story is especially cringe-worthy now because of current events. I'll stop there, so as not to let all the kitties out of the bag. (See what you think...)
My personal favorite of these stories …
This story collection is named for the tale which is presented last--and the one that therefore sticks in my mind most vividly. Fresh Complaint contains one very real, scary conflict for an American teenaged girl with Pakistani parents. Prakrti is still in high school, but her parents have already betrothed her to a boy she does not know. She is an excellent student with plans for her life, but does not know how to get out of this oppressive family obligation. So, she cooks up a plan, a way to make herself unfit to be a traditional Hindu bride. So far, so interesting...but the plan she pursues is as detestable as it is unlikely. And this story is especially cringe-worthy now because of current events. I'll stop there, so as not to let all the kitties out of the bag. (See what you think...)
My personal favorite of these stories is Early Music, because I could easily sympathize with a couple who were trying so hard to do what they wanted, to live their dreams, but were thwarted by cruel reality. As the reader, I felt the dread and pressure of having to face the financial music.
Overall, I found these stories engaging, though in each one there was something that struck me as unlikely. It's possible that this is MY special complaint. I very much look forward to another Jeffrey Eugenides novel. I'm not much into short stories, and in my humble opinion, these do not do him justice.
