You Know You Want This: "Cat Person" and Other Stories

ISBN: 1982101636

Author: Roupenian, Kristen

Condition: New

Whats special about Cat Person, and the rest of the stories in You Know You Want This, is the authors expert control of language, character, story-her ability to write stories that feel told, and yet so unpretentious and accessible that we think they must be true. -The New York Times Book ReviewKristen Roupenian isnt just an uncannily great writer, she also knows things about the human psyche-things that I always supposed I would learn at some point, but never did. Some of these things are about mens minds in particular and Im pretty sure shes right. The world has made a lot more sense since reading this book. -Miranda July, New York Times bestselling author of The First Bad ManIf you think you know what this collection will be like, youre wrong. These stories are sharp and perverse, dark and bizarre, unrelenting and utterly bananas. I love them so, so much. -Carmen Maria Machado, National Book Award Finalist and author of Her Body and Other PartiesA compulsively readable collection of short stories that explore the complex-and often darkly funny-connections between gender, sex, and power across genres.You Know You Want This brilliantly explores the ways in which women are horrifying as much as it captures the horrors that are done to them. Among its pages are a couple who becomes obsessed with their friend hearing them have sex, then seeing them have sexuntil they cant have sex without him; a ten-year-old whose birthday party takes a sinister turn when she wishes for something mean; a woman who finds a book of spells half hidden at the library and summons her hearts desire: a nameless, naked man; and a self-proclaimed biter who dreams of sneaking up behind and sinking her teeth into a green-eyed, long-haired, pink-cheeked coworker.Spanning a range of genres and topics-from the mundane to the murderous and supernatural-these are stories about sex and punishment, guilt and anger, the pleasure and terror of inflicting and experiencing pain. These stories fascinate and repel, revolt and arouse, scare and delight in equal measure. And, as a collection, they point a finger at you, daring you to feel uncomfortable-or worse, understood-as if to say, You want this, right? You know you want this.