Marge Piercy's debut collection of short stories is a glimpse into the lives of everyday women moving through and making sense of their daily internal and external worlds. Keeping to the engaging, accessible language of Piercy's novels, the collection spans decades of her writing along with a range of locations, ages and emotional states of her protagonists. Whether grappling with death, familial relationships, friendship, sex, illness, or religion, Piercy's writing is as passionate, lucid, insightful, and thoughtfully alive as ever.
**
Review
“The author displays an old-fashioned narrative drive and a set of well-realized characters permitted to lead their own believably odd lives.” —Thomas Mallon, *Newsday *
"Piercy’s perceptiveness exposes our raw edges and vulnerability, but her characters never affect to be better than we are, only complicit with us in their desire to somehow get on with things." —Barbara Clark, the Barnstable Patriot
"The book’s paragraphs are concise and poetic. Each sentence is purposeful, enhancing the setting and action. If Piercy’s characters make you weep, it’s because they’re so real." —George Longenecker, Rain Taxi
“This reviewer knows no other writer with Piercy’s gifts for tracing the emotional route that two people take to a double bed, and the mental games and gambits each transacts there.” —Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune
“Marge Piercy is not just an author, she’s a cultural touchstone. Few writers in modern memory have sustained her passion, and skill, for creating stories of consequence.” —Boston Globe
“What Piercy has that Danielle Steel, for example, does not is an ability to capture life’s complex texture, to chart shifting relationships and evolving consciousness within the context of political and economic realities she delineates with mordant matter-of-factness." —Wendy Smith, Chicago Sun-Times
“As always, Piercy writes with high intelligence, love for the world, ethical passion, and innate feminism.” —Adrienne Rich, feminist and author, A Change of World
"With uncompromising emotional intensity, Piercy captures the complex female experience in her debut short story collection. Powerful in scope, the collection feels driven by an idea rather than a story, demonstrating Pierce’s understanding of how social constructs evolve in deeply personal ways." —Publishers Weekly
"Piercy homes in on her characters, mixing just the right amount of humor into her always insightful take on imperfect human relationships, in their many guises." —Deborah Donovan, Booklist
"Piercy's debut short-story collection heralds the beloved feminist writer's return to fiction after a long hiatus. The stories, written in the fiercely honest style of her novels, follows everyday women attempting to make sense of their world." —Ms. Magazine
"Though stuffed with heavy topics, The Cost of Lunch, Etc. is the perfect poolside literary pick." —glo-mag.com
"Many of the stories are funny, a few shocking, all are interesting and incredibly well-told. For a journey into the feminine psyche it is unparalleled." —Sally Hughes, welovethisbook.com
About the Author
Marge Piercy is the author of 17 novels, including the national bestsellers Braided Lives, Gone to Soldiers, and Woman on the Edge of Time; 17 volumes of poetry; and a critically acclaimed memoir, Sleeping with Cats. She has been the recipient of four honorary doctorates and has been a key player in many of the major progressive political battles, including the anti–Vietnam War and the women’s movements, and more recently an active participant in the resistance to the war in Iraq. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
Description:
Marge Piercy's debut collection of short stories is a glimpse into the lives of everyday women moving through and making sense of their daily internal and external worlds. Keeping to the engaging, accessible language of Piercy's novels, the collection spans decades of her writing along with a range of locations, ages and emotional states of her protagonists. Whether grappling with death, familial relationships, friendship, sex, illness, or religion, Piercy's writing is as passionate, lucid, insightful, and thoughtfully alive as ever.
**
Review
“The author displays an old-fashioned narrative drive and a set of well-realized characters permitted to lead their own believably odd lives.” —Thomas Mallon, *Newsday *
"Piercy’s perceptiveness exposes our raw edges and vulnerability, but her characters never affect to be better than we are, only complicit with us in their desire to somehow get on with things." —Barbara Clark, the Barnstable Patriot
"The book’s paragraphs are concise and poetic. Each sentence is purposeful, enhancing the setting and action. If Piercy’s characters make you weep, it’s because they’re so real." —George Longenecker, Rain Taxi
“This reviewer knows no other writer with Piercy’s gifts for tracing the emotional route that two people take to a double bed, and the mental games and gambits each transacts there.” —Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune
“Marge Piercy is not just an author, she’s a cultural touchstone. Few writers in modern memory have sustained her passion, and skill, for creating stories of consequence.” —Boston Globe
“What Piercy has that Danielle Steel, for example, does not is an ability to capture life’s complex texture, to chart shifting relationships and evolving consciousness within the context of political and economic realities she delineates with mordant matter-of-factness." —Wendy Smith, Chicago Sun-Times
“As always, Piercy writes with high intelligence, love for the world, ethical passion, and innate feminism.” —Adrienne Rich, feminist and author, A Change of World
"With uncompromising emotional intensity, Piercy captures the complex female experience in her debut short story collection. Powerful in scope, the collection feels driven by an idea rather than a story, demonstrating Pierce’s understanding of how social constructs evolve in deeply personal ways." —Publishers Weekly
"Piercy homes in on her characters, mixing just the right amount of humor into her always insightful take on imperfect human relationships, in their many guises." —Deborah Donovan, Booklist
"Piercy's debut short-story collection heralds the beloved feminist writer's return to fiction after a long hiatus. The stories, written in the fiercely honest style of her novels, follows everyday women attempting to make sense of their world." —Ms. Magazine
"Though stuffed with heavy topics, The Cost of Lunch, Etc. is the perfect poolside literary pick." —glo-mag.com
"Many of the stories are funny, a few shocking, all are interesting and incredibly well-told. For a journey into the feminine psyche it is unparalleled." —Sally Hughes, welovethisbook.com
About the Author
Marge Piercy is the author of 17 novels, including the national bestsellers Braided Lives, Gone to Soldiers, and Woman on the Edge of Time; 17 volumes of poetry; and a critically acclaimed memoir, Sleeping with Cats. She has been the recipient of four honorary doctorates and has been a key player in many of the major progressive political battles, including the anti–Vietnam War and the women’s movements, and more recently an active participant in the resistance to the war in Iraq. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.