This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

WINNER OF THE BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD

'Terrifically exciting . . . It's a beautiful, electrifying thing to witness - a writer so hilariously and so reasonably voicing the unspeakable'

Sarah Hall

'I laughed and winced at these witty, shrewd stories . . . Hats off to Naomi Wood'

Reeta Chakrabarti

'Every story is glorious - full of dark mischief, so funny and unexpected and original. Brilliant'

Emma Healey

In my life, I had always been a good woman; controlling what it was that I wanted. But recently, I had started to notice my bad energy, and I began to follow it, wondering where it would take me . . .

A woman has an unexpected outburst at a corporate therapy session for working mothers. A couple find some long-overdue time to rekindle their relationship and make an ill-advised home movie. A pregnant film director plots revenge on the actress who betrayed her. An ex-wife deliberately causes conflict at her ex-husband's wedding.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things illuminates the lives of malicious, subversive and untamed women. Exploring failed sisterhood, dubious parenting and the dark side of modern love, this powerful and funny collection exposes how society wants women to behave, and shows what happens when they refuse.

Humane and very funny, a story that understands out emotional and intellectual storms, and the generosity we are capable of that will keep us all afloat -- JESSIE BURTON on ‘Comorbidities’
A whip-smart, funny, and pitch-perfect collection of stories about flawed and complex women we actually recognise. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is literary fiction at its best, and Naomi Wood a writer at the top of her game -- CHRISTIE WATSON, author of MORAL INJURIES
Sharp and fresh and painful and funny, these are clever and illuminating stories about contemporary motherhood. There's great pleasure to be found in these spiky women giving sarcastic retorts to their fragmented lives, and solidarity in their loneliness, and the ways that society and its structures have let them down -- LUCY CALDWELL, author of THESE DAYS
Every story in this book feels perfect in a different way. Very sharp and very funny . . . I loved it -- DAVID WHITEHOUSE, author of ABOUT A SON
I can't stop thinking about this book, it's almost too good. Wood's prose is delicious, deceptively readable and profoundly unnerving. This is dangerous writing; it glitters. Read it and riot -- MARIANNE LEVY, author of DON'T FORGET TO SCREAM
How terrifically exciting to see Naomi Wood flourish in the short story form. It seems the perfect vehicle for her wit, intelligence, mischief and levity. These stories absolutely nail the experiences of women rebelling in worlds calibrated to restrict and undernourish them. They skewer modern parenting, maternity, romance, and morality. It's a beautiful, electrifying thing to witness - a writer so hilariously and so reasonably voicing the unspeakable -- SARAH HALL, author of BURNTCOAT
From the winner of the BBC Short Story Award comes a smart, skewering collection of tales on the subversive sides of womanhood. Failed sisterhood, the shadowy side of modern love, perilous parenting classes and the dangers of inviting an ex-wife to a former husband's wedding are explored with gleeful aplomb DAILY MAIL
I laughed and winced at these witty, shrewd stories about women who will not or cannot conform. They are mothers, wives, friends and lovers who play out all the complications of each of these roles - they are never noble, and never victims. Hats off to Naomi Wood who writes with her usual sparkling acuity about modern life and relationships -- REETA CHAKRABARTI
I love this collection! Every story is glorious - full of dark mischief, so funny and unexpected and original. Brilliant -- EMMA HEALEY, author of ELIZABETH IS MISSING
I loved meeting Wood's troublesome characters. Each story is packed full of voice, beautiful use of language. Time and again, Wood sticks the landing, which is no easy feat in the short form -- JARRED MCGINNIS, author of THE COWARD
In this ultra-smart collection, Naomi Wood shines a light into the hidden rooms of womanhood, exploring their dark corners with grace, humour, and brutal frankness. I both recognised and cared deeply for these deliciously flawed women -- MEGAN BRADBURY, author of EVERYONE IS WATCHING
Complex, powerful, relatable, hilarious, expansive, REAL tales of modern motherhood. This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things captures the horror and terror of motherhood as well as the joys and tenderness. This book is another little chip off The Shame of not finding motherhood easy or pleasurable all the time - but mostly it is so, so funny. It's a life-affirming companion for any woman who has ever doubted or questioned or winced at her own life choices or deepest feelings. I loved it -- EMMA JANE UNSWORTH, author of ANIMALS

Naomi Wood is the award-winning author of three novels, including the bestselling Mrs. Hemingway. Her stories have been published in the Mid-American Review, Washington Square Review, Joyland and Stylist, and have been shortlisted for the Manchester Fiction Prize, the London Magazine Short Story Prize and longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Story Prize. 'Comorbidities' won the 2023 BBC National Short Story Award. She lives in Norwich with her family, and teaches Creative Writing at UEA.

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