Tell Me: Thirty Stories

By Mary Robison

“Robison has a poet's eye for the unconscious surrealism of commercial America.” —The New York Times Book Review

Tell Me reflects the early brilliance as well as the fulfilled promise of Mary Robison's literary career. In these stories—most of which appeared in The New Yorker throughout the eighties—we enter her sly world of plotters, absconders, ponderers, and pontificators.

Robison's characters have chips on their shoulders; they talk back to us in language that is edgy and nervy; they say “all right” and “okay” often, not because they consent, but because nothing counts. Still, there are small victories here, small only because, as Robison precisely documents, larger victories are impossible. Here then, among others, is “Pretty Ice,” chosen by Richard Ford for The Granta Book of American Short Stories, “Coach,” chosen for Best American Short Stories, “I Get By,” an O. Henry Prize Stories selection, and “Happy Boy, Allen,” a Pushcart Prize Stories selection.

These stories—sharp, cool, and astringently funny—confirm Mary Robison's place as one of our most original writers and led Richard Yates to comment, “Robison writes like an avenging angel, and I think she may be a genius.”

“Mary Robison's short stories are short, subtle, and substantial... her ironic sense of detail bursts from every sentence.” —Vogue

“Word for fucking word, her work demands our attention.” —David Leavitt, The Village Voice

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: May 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781640090576

Reviews for Tell Me

[karlbunker-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For the most part, these are "slice of life" stories. That is, they aren't stories with obvious plot or conflict or character arc. No three act structure or five elements of plot or four calling birds. They are moments in the lives of their characters. But one shouldn't say "just" moments in the lives... These are carefully and beautifully crafted moments in the lives of carefully and beautifully crafted characters, and that's enough to give these stories great depth and emotional resonance. One can imagine Robison's stories as something precious and beautiful, cradled in their author's hands, shown to us for only a few moments and then taken away, so that the briefness of our time with the characters and their lives only adds to the memorable poignancy of the story.In some of these stories the plot isn't all that obscure. We sometimes see Robison's characters in a moment of crisis or emotional intensity, and there's a sense of resolution and closure at the end. But such stories are the exception in this volume. More often, one is likely to come away wondering why Robison chose to show those particular moments in her characters' lives -- why those particular events, those pieces of dialog, those thoughts? Why did the story begin where it began and end where it ended? Well, perhaps because thinking about that question is one path into the greater richness and depth of the story. Or alternatively, perhaps it's enough to dip into the lives of some interesting and beautifully crafted characters, spend some time with them, and un-dip back out of their lives. Perhaps no more "point" than that is necessary.