Spoiled: Stories

BONUS: This edition contains a "Spoiled" discussion guide. A young woman does a good deed for her nanny, only to have it go horribly wrong. A newly married woman struggles to gain the upper hand with her self-assured cleaning woman. An anxious woman desperate for an authentic experience makes a rash decision to leave the grounds of her Moroccan luxury hotel. In this sophisticated and provocative story collection, acclaimed author Caitlin Macy turns her unsparing eye on well-heeled thirtysomething women who, despite their education and affluence, struggle to keep their footing in their relationships with their friends, spouses, and children--not to mention their help. Full of surprising, sometimes shocking insights and brimming with outrage and compassion, Spoiled is a remarkable collection from a boldly talented writer.

Review :
"I was completely captivated by these keenly observed, superbly written stories. Caitlin Macy's characters are educated, strong-willed, and sometimes difficult girls and women who alternate, as all of us do, between lying to themselves and facing the truth. Macy's depiction of them, set against a very contemporary backdrop of class, gender, urbanism, and ambition, is so entertaining that it's easy to overlook how well-crafted this collection is. I'm hugely impressed and plan to recommend Spoiled to all my friends."--Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife "Who else today writes so accurately about the impossibilities of privilege as Caitlin Macy? Packed with real wit and genuine rage, "Spoiled" is a gin-flavored litmus test, a social X ray set on stun, a grand entertainment, an argument starter. These deft morality tales grip us like the best gossip-then jolt us into feeling."--Ed Park, author of Personal Days "Macy is a writer [Edith] Wharton might well approve of . . . Her prose is tidy, assured, and graceful, and its restraint lends this book an old-fashioned clarity and confidence . . . In the end, these stories aren't about money so much as they are about wanting, be it naked or sublimated, and about the distance between anxious women and their resolutely logical, maddeningly literal-minded men--and that's what transmutes this book into an enjoyable read even for those of us who will never use the word" summer" as a verb."--"Elle" "An impressive, psychologically nuanced collection of stories on class and gender in New York . . . Sophisticated and intelligent, Macy offers the kind of subtlety that turns the ordinary into the sublime."--"Kirkus Reviews," starred "Superb . . . Issues of class and femininity are woven throughout many of these tales, and often make for interesting perceptions and sly conclusions."--"Booklist" "Rewarding . . . Macy is especially adept at slyly pointing out the absurdities inherent in a social set where renting a summerhouse is a source of shame."--"Publishers Weekly" "From the Hardcover edition."