I was so happy to read the latest by Curtis. It is a wonderful collection of stories and fascinating characters. I think the author is a magician and I am always enthralled. Thankyou!!

A joy! Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my favourite authors and is absolutely my favourite writer of short stories. I am always blown away by the skill of good short story writing, to craft a complete story in so few words. I love reading them but often find in a collection, there are hits and misses or a general feeling of unevenness. Absolutely not the case with this collection, every on of the 12 hits the mark.

A brilliant collection full of realistic characters , predominantly women approaching or in middle age as they deal with all this stage of live can throw at a person. Marriage, divorce, career, parenting, I loved every character. A special treat was the last story which features Lee from Sittenfeld's book Prep, twenty years later, finding out how her life has gone and where she is now was magic.

Brilliantly written and a genuine joy to read, fans will adore this collection and undoubtedly it will bring the author a huge number of new fans, I am jealous they will get to experience her back catalogue of books for the first time.

Looking forward to buying a copy on publication date, thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

4.5- 5 stars.

I really like Curtis Sittenfeld and have many fond memories of reading her debut novel, 'Prep', many years ago. So, a collection of short stories is always welcome. I did enjoy these but I found myself feeling quite indifferent about many of them. Some, such as the last one, are too long, in my opinion, and others have [sort of] blended into one - without many distinguishing features. I did enjoy the opening story and I do appreciate Sittenfeld's handling of the short form. However, there are too many stories here that are campus-based, or similar.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Sittenfeld’s You Think It, I’ll Say It is one of my favourite short story collections and while Show Don’t Tell didn’t, for me, come close to the brilliance of that earlier collection, it is still a more than worthwhile read purely for the presence of the final sorry, Lost but Not Forgotten, which (fellow Sittenfeld nerds rejoice!) allows the reader to catch up with Lee Fiora, protagonist of Sittenfeld’s debut novel Prep, at her 30 year school reunion.

First, the other stories. Many of those collected here have already been published elsewhere, several as Kindle singles and three in 2020’s short collection, Help Yourself. I refer you to my previous comment about being a Sittenfeld nerd, which means I had read all of these already. Tonally and in terms of theme, these familiar stories along with several of the ones that were new to me kind of blurred into one somewhat. For the collection up to the final story, I would have likely given a 3 star rating.

But Lost But Not Forgotten reminded me precisely why I’m a Sittenfeld nerd in the first place. Prep was a completely transformative book for me when I read it on release in 2005 and several times since then. Lee Fiora was not so much a role model as a reflection back of my own socially awkward self, one which was so accurate that it made me cringe. So it was an utter joy to encounter Lee as an adult woman, one just a few years older than I am now, no longer awkward but accomplished. I rarely highlight while reading fiction but found myself doing so to several passages in the story. This was, both for nostalgic reasons but also for the quality of writing, a true 5 star read.

There is no denying that Sittenfeld is a fabulous writer. Her line level work makes me want to re-read sentences over again to soak them up. But these short stories fell a bit flat for me. In fact, I didn't finish them because they all felt a little bit the same. I have absolutely loved previous work by the author and will continue to read everything she writes, but these didn't hit home for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Sittenfelds supreme talent is showcased in this collection of short stories which are intriguing and fascinating.

Slice of life short stories, academia and female characters. Well written, clever and engaging. Very relatable middle age representation!

I don't know if I'm growing out of Curtis Sittenfeld or if her writing is just growing away from me. This second collection of short stories, Show Don't Tell, is probably no worse than her first full-length collection, You Think It, I'll Say It, and yet I was far less impressed by it. It's interesting that I'd read almost half of these stories before, either in her previous short collection Help Yourself or as Amazon Originals. Therefore, a number of these were re-reads, and with the exception of 'Giraffe and Flamingo', they did not repay rereading. But then, the new-to-me stories mostly failed to captivate either, although I did like 'The Richest Babysitter in the World' and 'The Patron Saint of Middle Age'.

Sittenfeld deliberately sticks to what she knows, writing about midwestern white American women of a particular generation - now in their fifties, they look back to college days in the 1980s or 1990s. In You Think It, I'll Say It, I thought this was a strength, but I now feel it's becoming a weakness. All her protagonists are identical (even when they are men) and the register, for better or worse, is definitely veering more towards the middlebrow. Sittenfeld's short fiction tends to work better for me when it has a snappy premise - for example, in 'A for Alone', where an artist decides to challenge Mike Pence's belief that women and men shouldn't be alone together unless they are married by taking a series of male friends out to lunch - as otherwise it meanders, the writing not strong enough to accomplish the nebulous magic that some literary fiction manages. I did enjoy reading this collection, and I think many people will enjoy reading it a lot more than me, so I don't want to put off any prospective readers, but I'm going to mute my excitement about the next Sittenfeld release. (And try to forget that she ever tried to write a follow-up to her fantastic Prep ('Lost But Not Forgotten') which somehow brings less than nothing to the table by making Lee Fiora just the same as all the other middle-aged women in these stories.) 3.5 stars.

Curtis Seinfeld has done it again.
I’m not a fan of the short story and when I requested this because I enjoyed Romantic Comedy so much, I did not realise it was a selection of short stories.
However, I enjoyed them very much and found quite a few of them thought provoking. I shall be thinking about Pangea for quite some time.
Very insightful writing, and compelling short stories.
Thank you so much to #NetGalley for the opportunity to have read this had a publication in exchange for an honest review

I love Curtis Sittenfeld; Romantic Comedy was easily my book of the year in 2024 so I was thrilled to be approved for this one (thank you!). This collection of short stories is warm, thought-provoking and often funny. Sittenfeld beautifully explores themes of celebrity, love and life beyond your 20s with nuance and great introspection. I loved most of the content featured, and every character jumps off the page even in this format. If I were to be critical I'd say that because there are many short stories in this collection (it is generous!), there is some overlap and repetition in parts. But she's just a beautiful writer and I'll read anything she puts out!

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read early.

Having really enjoyed Rodham and Romantic Comedy and being a fan of short stories in general, I was sure I was going to love Show Don’t Tell but unfortunately this was not the case.

In the end I actually didn’t finish this one as I just couldn’t get into it at all. With a few exceptions, I just couldn’t engage with a lot of the stories and their characters.

I might try and pick Show Don’t Tell up again at a later date but for now this just isn’t for me!

I've not read a lot of Sittenfeld's work but I was drawn to the idea of her short stories and this volume didn't disappoint at all. As is to be expected not every story worked (for me at least) as well as others but there was only one that I skim read from the whole collection.
I definitely got Elizabeth Strout vibes from some of the stories and for me this was a real treat as I like that style of writing. The championing of older women without all of the stories being about menopause/perimenopause was also refreshing as was the focus on the small everyday occurrences rather than big showy events.

Show, Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld is a masterful collection of stories that delve into the complexities of human behavior, instinct, and the quiet turbulence of everyday emotions Sittenfeld captures the nuances of the human experience, allowing us to reflect on the emotional undercurrents that shape our lives. It’s a collection that doesn’t rush, but instead invites us to savor the ordinary and discover the extraordinary within it.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Sittenfeld's prose is sublime. Each one of these short stories was a tiny masterpiece. They were complete and beautifully crafted in themselves but I also wouldn't have been sorry if each one of them had been book length. Not a wasted sentence. Sharp, funny, sad and just all round terrific. I ate this up in one sitting.

Show Don’t Tell has exceeded my expectations; when it comes to short story collections, I keep the expectations to a minimum, and often get a mixed experience.
This one here is firstly, well-written, secondly, contemporary and alive.
The endings did not always satisfy me, but I realised that the resolutions by Sittenfeld meant a change for my reading experiences.
It gets better after the second story, in my opinion.
The characters felt authentic.
Although, there was not an all encompassing theme, there were a few sub themes or topics that the writer had explored in a few of the stories. I liked this aspect - as a writer/reader, I love seeing different takes on the same themes by the same author.
4.5 stars very deservingly rounded up.

Love this collections of stories from renowned story teller Curtis Sittenfeld. I really loved her last few novels so I was excited to check this one out! Perfect if you’re looking for a story to dip in and out of if you don’t have a lot of time to sit and read a full story but still enjoy the pleasure and escape of reading

I love Curtis Sittenfeld’s writing - she may be my favourite author - but this collection didn’t entirely work for me. Her characters are so immediately engaging, but many of these stories left me feeling a little unsatisfied, wondering what the point was, or what I was meant to take from them (maybe nothing?! I don’t know…) I kept wanting to get back to the excellent novel I was reading and then realising it wasn’t a novel, it was a story, and it was already over.

If you’re a fan of Sittenfeld then you will without a doubt love this collection . All the stories are written in her classic style and there wasn’t one that I didn’t enjoy . The characters are so real and relatable and just normal ! Stories of marriage and friendships and situations from everyday life and we mee Lee from Prep again !! Such a great collection I could easily read again .

Curtis Sittenfeld is an eloquent and expressive storyteller. This book is a masterclass in short stories.