Back Talk

'Beautifully crafted' New York Times

'The best collection I've read in years, from a phenomenal new talent' Celeste Ng

From an award-winning writer, a stunning collection of stories about women's unexpressed desires and needs, and the unexpected ways they resurface.

In 'Floor Plans', a woman at the end of her marriage tests her power when she inadvertently befriends the neighbor trying to buy her apartment. In 'Appetite', a sixteen-year old grieving her mother's death experiences first love and questions how much more heartbreak she and her family can endure. In 'Dinosaurs', a recent widower and a young babysitter help each other navigate how much they have to give -and how much they can take - from the people around them.

Through stories that are at once empathetic and unexpected, these women and girls defiantly push the boundaries between selfishness and self-possession. With a fresh voice and bold honesty, Back Talk examines how narrowly our culture allows women to express their desires.

“Danielle Lazarin's Back Talk is deceptively quiet but packs a powerful punch -much like the girls and women in its pages. The stories in this collection batter at the boundaries of female desire-not just for sex, but for intimacy, for visibility, for agency. They talk back to the idea that stories about women are 'domestic,' burrowing deep to find wildness and a smoldering fury beneath. The best collection I've read in years, from a phenomenal new talent”

Beautifully crafted . . . These stories hand their warnings to us: Don't be pleasant or easy to touch. Look mean for the camera. Just get up and go - New York Times

Danielle Lazarin's Back Talk is deceptively quiet but packs a powerful punch-much like the girls and women in its pages. The stories in this collection batter at the boundaries of female desire-not just for sex, but for intimacy, for visibility, for agency. They talk back to the idea that stories about women are 'domestic,' burrowing deep to find wildness and a smoldering fury beneath. The best collection I've read in years, from a phenomenal new talent

Lazarin's exceptional debut collection digs deep into the lives of women, telling complex stories of loss, hope, and joy. . . . [Back Talk] is confident and exhilarating; this auspicious collection is uniformly excellent - Publishers Weekly

Danielle Lazarin's short stories have won grants from New York Foundation for the Arts and the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, the Glimmer Train Family Matters Award and Hopwood Awards. She is graduate of the writing programs of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program. She lives in her native New York City with her husband and daughters.

'Beautifully crafted' New York Times 'The best collection I've read in years, from a phenomenal new talent' Celeste NgFrom an award-winning writer, a stunning collection of stories about women's unexpressed desires and needs, and the unexpected ways they resurface.In 'Floor Plans', a woman at the end of her marriage tests her power when she inadvertently befriends the neighbor trying to buy her apartment. In 'Appetite', a sixteen-year old grieving her mother's death experiences first love and questions how much more heartbreak she and her family can endure. In 'Dinosaurs', a recent widower and a young babysitter help each other navigate how much they have to give -and how much they can take - from the people around them. Through stories that are at once empathetic and unexpected, these women and girls defiantly push the boundaries between selfishness and self-possession. With a fresh voice and bold honesty, Back Talk examines how narrowly our culture allows women to express their desires.

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