I don’t normally request short story collections but for Heinz I made an exception and wasn’t disappointed. Superb observational tales of modern marriage, life and relationships and a lot of wry humour. Each one is perfect in its own right and the collection is a joy.

A first time read of this author for me. Even though it was a collection of short stories the author managed to give them all great depth and many left you wondering what next. Really well written and many interesting stories, Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

This is a brilliant collection of short stories. Every one of them was compelling. To me, each of the stories was perfectly pitched. Heiny takes 'everyday' subjects and examines them in such an intelligent way. For instance, a group of driving instructors, one of whom has a crush on a work colleague, and a mother who suspects her teenage son of taking drugs. From these simple ideas, Heiny has constructed complex characters in a narrative style that is beautifully formed. These are short literary pieces at their very best. I'll definitely look out for more of Heiny's writing. Very highly recommended for those who appreciate the craft of short story writing, and literary fiction. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I haven't read a collection of contemporary short stories in a long time. I have felt in recent years that in contemporary collection stories didn't deliver or were inconsistent in quality across the collection but this array of 11 tales from Katherine Heiny has changed my mind. These stories are lovely bitesizes to read and finish before bed or at lunch time or on the commute. Like a lovely jewel box of treats. The quality of storytelling is consistent and the scenarios interesting and the writing just flowed and was enjoyable and relatable. I've read Standard Deviation and Early Morning Riser by this author and thought both were great reads. This collection (I felt) was more in the vein of Early Morning Riser. Little vignettes about family life and relationships around the theme of the Games people play with one another and the social rituals/norms we have in our society around family and the course our lives should take for better or worse. Babies, teenagers, aged parents, adultery, longing, romance it's all in the tales, poignantly told sometimes and at other time comedic.There were several relationships and characters I could have read about for much longer or have the potential to be developed into a novel. . I've now got Katherine Heiny's debut collection of stories, Single, Carefree, Mellow on my Kindle To be Read Pile.

I saw this on Netgalley and instantly clicked ‘request’ without knowing anything about the book because it was by Katherine Heiny. A short while in, it became apparent that this was a collection of short stories. I won’t lie; I was kind of gutted. I don’t love short stories and had really been hoping for a new full length. BUT. I am happy for my fussy little judgement to have been flung out of the window: this collection was great! I wished every story could have been a full length, but.. it’s okay that we got these little nuggets, because they were deliciously funny and I loved them.

This is a collection of short stories with a central theme of relationships. I sometimes struggle with collections by a single author- the style, characters and plot can become too similar from one story to another but not here. By of the characters stayed with me and had me thinking of what would happen after the story ended. It’s amazing how much were told in so few words- true artistry!

Live, laugh...lockdown? Katherine Heiny is back, and on blistering form with this collection of short stories. My favourites were: a chance to revisit Mia (from 'Single, Carefree, Mellow,' the author's earlier collection, which I read in the first weeks of lockdown) who's now middle-aged, a single mother to a sweet son, Gordey, and wondering if he's getting high after school (just like Mia did, and like everyone else around her seems to be doing still).

In '561,' a woman does her penance for breaking up a marriage by helping her husband's ex-wife move house while reflecting on the circumstances that brought them together when they worked on a suicide hotline. A man wonders if his wife will give him to Goodwill when she becomes obsessed with Marie Kondo, and another man is simultaneously enchanted and maddened by his lover, mercurial wedding photographer Tessa.

Add a hilarious, left-field and very moving pandemic story of two young women facing the possible end of the world with migraines, mango margaritas and skincare schemes, and you've got a recipe for cover-to-cover delight. My thanks to Netgalley and Fourth Estate for this ARC of one of my very favourite authors.

This novel contains short stories which involves: some life decisions to be made, odd relationships (not all romantic) and mainly the oddities of human social behaviour in a fresh voice.

I enjoyed the first story the most and Pandemic Behaviour. The rest were not too enjoyable as I found them to be quite boring, not relatable and moves very slowly that did not hold my attention.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Katherine Heiny is of my favourite writers, and it was, unsurprisingly, a delight to read her short stories after loving her novels. These are sensitively observed, warm, unusual, and utterly compelling. I gorged on this collection and I am sure I will come back and re-read it when the book is published.

It's not often that a book makes me laugh out loud. The first story in this book did though.
It's an interesting mix of stories, dipping in and out of people's lives.
I've heard a few people say recently that Katherine Heiny is great and how much they love her writing. I can see why. Nothing that dramatic happens but I still wanted to read on and spend time with the characters.
I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

🪥 Games & Rituals by Katherine Heiny 🪥

Thanks 4th Estate Books for this eARC!

Lines i liked:

“But that’s February — all the joy leaks out of life.”

“You call him, dutiful daughter that you are, and say, Don’t worry. (Although, honestly, he doesn’t seem all that worried.) You say, I’ll come take care of it. What? Your father says. I’ll come take care of it. What? Your father says. I’ll COME TAKE CARE OF YOUR FUCKING MISTAKE. He can’t hear you anyway.”

“You let the owner of McCormick’s Party Store come in your mouth and all you got out of it were stale pretzels!”

“It was why Lindy never wanted to live on the edge. She knew that if you weren’t careful, you sailed right off.”

“When they get there, she’ll be that much closer to being somebody else.”

Cool bits:
- Collette pretending she’s pregnant
- Marlee wearing a bridesmaids dress to work because they want to be fired

I read Standard Deviation a few years ago and loved it so I really fancied Games And Rituals and it didn't disappoint! Full of Katherine's wit and human insight, each story captured me and was perfectly written. Highly recommended. Thanks to Fourth Estate, Netgalley and Katherine Heiny for the ARC.

Generally a nice enough collection, but a covid story wouldn't be my choice of read, and I don't enjoy 2nd person POV.
Mix of themes and characters, just didn't love it.

There's something for everyone in these eleven short stories, all completely different and each an ideal length to accompany a coffee break.

Choose one, put your feet up, relax for a few minutes and disappear into a literary world.

ARC generously supplied by 4th Estate, William Collins and NetGalley, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

I’m not a huge lover of short stories, but these really hit the mark for me. Heiny is an amazing storyteller. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

A series of short stories about the games people play in relationships. Told as the first person and covering a variety of ages and types of romances.
An easy and relaxing read.
Perfect if you only have a short period of time to read.

Generally, I really do not enjoy reading short stories as I normally find them quite unsatisfying. This is not the case, however, when they are written by Katherine Heiny. Katherine Heiny’s writing is simply glorious. Early Morning Riser is one of my favourite books and I rushed to request her latest work. This is a collection of short stories about women in all stages in their life and just felt so comforting to read. Easy to dip in and out of, confident in the knowledge you are in the hands of a master at their craft. I loved it!

This a great collection of quirky little stories focusing on how as people we move along with the passing of time. They are simple everyday day tales that dive a little with characters that a well written. I liked all the stories in the collection each one makes great observations with quick wit and dark humour. I really liked the writing style of the author, she manages to make a lot on a short story and seamlessly passes though time when telling the stories. I haven’t read any of the authors previous work but I’ll be looking out for more from her. This is a great little collection to escape with, for short stories they are brilliant and capture the human condition better than many novels of the same genre. Perfect for reading at lunch time or the train home from work

Thank you for the ARC

What a lovely, funny little collection of short stories mostly looking uncompromisingly at imperfect women in their mid-life in unusual but oddly realistic situations. There were a few stories about younger women, with one separating from her college boyfriend and another trying to get through the pandemic, but I preferred those about women (and some men) in their 40s and older acting a little bit stupid. Perfection.

"In "Damascus," a mother fears her teenage son is making the same youthful mistakes she did, only to realize that he is wiser than she had understood. In "Twist and Shout," Ericka's elderly father mistakes his four-thousand-dollar hearing aid for a cashew. In "Turn Back, Turn Back," a bedtime story coupled with a receipt for a Starbucks babyccino reveal a struggling actor's deception. And in "561," Charlene pays the true price of infidelity when she is forced to help her husband's ex-wife move out of the family home. ("It's like you're North Korea and South Korea... But would North Korea help South Korea move?") From one of today's most accomplished bard's of modern life--of waking up in the wrong bed, wearing the wrong shoes, being late for the wrong job, but being loved by the right people--a fresh and satisfying work of glorious humour and immense kindness."

I am hooked on the way that Katherine Heiny writes. With short stories, i tend to space them out as they tend to be very similar. But I simply couldnt. I INHALED this collection. I only got approved a few hours ago to read this book early thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, and I could NOT stop. Her novels are painfully relatable and her collection of short stories are just that. This book covers all of the human emotions - from love to lust to grief to happiness, its all there. The tone is lighthearted for the majority of the book, but right beneath the surface, there are joys, disappointments, and losses that every single one of us experience as we experience day-to-day life.

Each of these stories felt like a full story, the characters and their world so fully realized in so few pages. There were laugh-out-loud moments, and times when my heart truly ached.
Chicken Flavoured and Lemon Scented is my favourite short story. It is on the surface what looks like a mundane story of four driving examiners at the DMV and how each of them identify and interact with each other. It is so poignant and brilliant that I have NO hesitation in recommending this book - I would LOVE to receive a physical copy to post onto my instagram to review!

Its fun, relatable and better than her previous book, and i thought couldnt be possible! Katherine Heiny makes the art of the short story appear effortless. I've not seen any bad reviews of this book, and I would even go as far to give it a 5 star rating.