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Description
In stories set on airplanes, in restaurants, at parties, and in assorted bedrooms, the bestselling author of "Bad Behavior" entices readers to "listen in" on characters whom they may not want to know--but whose secrets are irresistibly intriguing. QPBC Alternate National print publicity &... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Summary
Tiny , Smiling Daddy is like Shakespeare for those of us trapped in dysfunctional families. It’s a masterpiece! Reading this story in Scribner’s anthology inspired me to run right out and buy “Because They Wanted To,” and “Bad Behavior” I love how Gaitskill paints characters that can’t get... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Stew: In "Tiny Smiling Daddy," Stew's daughter grows up to write a painful description of him for publication in a Women's magazine. It's clear that he always tried to love his kid the best way he knew how, but now that his daughter is choosing open old wounds in the public eye, he is hurt and confused. He tries to handle it with all the maturity and calmness he can muster. That's the story. He can only handle it for so long before he breaks down. In doing so, he reveals his true character
- Jill: Jill is a magazine writer that clearly has issues with men. In "The Dentist," Jill exposes her need to suffer in order to be happy. Of course, this is why she falls in love with a dentist. In fact, this guy who she pursues may be the boring, vapid man in literary history, but her attraction to him is intensified when he has a needle deep into her gums. This element of her personality frightens me. She is desperate and compassionate and incredibly intellectual, but she will never control herself. Her need for pain is greater than her need for love.
- Daniel: Daniel is a Gaitskill character torn right down the middle. In "Comfort" his love and understanding for his family is exactly what prevents him from being happy with his lover. He can't communicate a lifetime's worth of lessons and experience that he learned from his mother and father in brief bedtime conversations. What he feels for his family is deep. The words he has to describe his emotions get smothered in the physical attraction of the moment.
Memorable Quotes
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“"You're the son i don't worry about at all. You're a cat that lands on its feet. You could be stuck in the middle of the desert and you'd find your way."”
Daniel's father
First Sentence
He lay in his reclining chair, barely awake enough to feel the dream moving just under his thoughts.
Table of Contents
Tiny, Smiling Daddy
Because They Wanted To
Orchid
The Blanket
Comfort
The Girl on the Plane
The Dentist
Kiss and Tell
The Wrong Thing
Turgor
Respect
Processing
Stuff
Authors & Contributors
- Mary Gaitskill (Author)
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