Barbara the Slut and Other People

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Holmes, Lauren
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Holmes, Lauren	4-week checkout	On Shelf

How am I supposed to talk to you? -- Weekend with Beth, Kelly, Muscle, and Pammy -- Mike anonymous -- I will crawl to Raleigh if I have to -- Desert hearts -- Pearl and the swiss guy fall in love -- New girls -- My humans -- Jerks -- Barbara the slut.
"A fresh, honest, and darkly funny debut collection about family, friends, and lovers, and the flaws that make us most human. Fearless, candid, and incredibly funny, Lauren Holmes is a newcomer who writes like a master. She tackles eros and intimacy with a deceptively light touch, a keen awareness of how their nervous systems tangle and sometimes short-circuit, and a genius for revealing our most vulnerable, spirited selves. In "Desert Hearts," a woman takes a job selling sex toys in San Francisco rather than embark on the law career she pursued only for the sake of her father. In "Pearl and the Swiss Guy Fall in Love," a woman realizes she much prefers the company of her pit bull--and herself--to the neurotic foreign fling who won't decamp from her apartment. In "How Am I Supposed to Talk to You?" a daughter hauls a suitcase of lingerie to Mexico for her flighty, estranged mother to resell there, wondering whether her personal mission--to come out--is worth the same effort. And in "Barbara the Slut," a young woman with an autistic brother, a Princeton acceptance letter, and a love of sex navigates her high school's toxic, slut-shaming culture with open eyes. With heart, sass, and pitch-perfect characters, Barbara the Slut is a head-turning debut from a writer with a limitless career before her"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents: How am I supposed to talk to you? -- Weekend with Beth, Kelly, Muscle, and Pammy. -- Mike anonymous. -- I will crawl to Raleigh if I have to. -- Desert hearts. -- Pearl and the swiss guy fall in love. -- New girls. -- My humans. -- Jerks. -- Barbara the slut.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Fresh, Funny and Identifiable submitted by eapearce on November 3, 2015, 5:37pm Many short stories are beautifully written and have surprisingly well-developed characters for their length. I always find myself struggling to truly identify with characters in short stories though, because in shorter pieces readers are so often dropped into scenes that have already begun, or whisked away from scenes that have not quite been completed. Holmes has managed to make her characters in Barbara the Slut and Other People completely relatable and understandable, though. Most of these stories are told in the first person, so we get to hear the characters' thoughts. Holmes places these characters in situations that are unique enough to make the stories interesting, but common and understandable enough for readers to see why her characters react and respond the way that they do. Although some of the stories are more serious than others, I loved the sense of humor that permeates each one. Dialogue--both between characters and as the characters share their thoughts with the reader--is quick and witty. The scenes that Holmes paints are often funny in their own way too, whether its a sex toy store in San Francisco or a quiet apartment with pitbull and an unwanted guest, there is always a bit of wry humor in where she stages her stories.

This book is a smart, quick read and I loved it. I'm looking forward to whatever Holmes writes next!