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Back Talk
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
From an award-winning debut writer, a beautiful and unapologetic collection of stories about womens unexpressed desires and needs, and the unexpected ways they resurface Deceptively quiet but packs a powerful punch . . . The best collection I've read in years, from a phenomenal new talent. Celeste Ng Thank God, a collection of stories about women who don't hate themselves, don't hate other women, don't hate their bodies, don't hate their husbands, or even their ex-husbands . . . women who are simply, like me, trying to figure out what it means to be alive, to be in love, to be daughters, parents, siblings, wives, citizens, human beings. Eileen Pollack 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 mothers 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 giveand how much they can takefrom 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. Fantastically written with a fresh voice and bold honesty, Back Talk examines the cultural narrowness of what it means to want as a woman.
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Megabooks
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Mehso-so

Does the world seem lousy with coming-of-age short story collections to anyone else? Just me?

With the exception of an excellent interlocking duology of stories about four half-siblings, this is a completely mediocre entry into the pantheon. 2.5⭐️

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Clwojick
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Clwojick @TheReadingMermaid ♥️☠️💀🖤 5y
Lizpixie “And I said ‘June, do you really think that wig is fooling anybody?‘” 5y
See All 31 Comments
StayCurious “Geez Frank, I feel like we‘ve been waiting forever for the food to come out!” 5y
Lizpixie “Bob, did you forget to pay the electricity bill again?” 5y
madamereadsalot1 "Too bad I'm on a diet." 5y
Lizpixie “I bring this seance to order. Can everybody hold phalanges” 5y
Lizpixie “Oh my god. You really went with pumpkins again Karen?” 5y
StayCurious “And I was like - hold up Yorick, I don‘t know you well enough for that!” 5y
Sleepswithbooks “How many calories is this? I really don‘t want to gain any more weight.” 5y
Liatrek “I can‘t believe you forgot I‘m vegan!” 5y
Liatrek “This is my favorite Bone, Thugs and Harmony song!” 5y
Lreads Yeah, I‘m not on any team but I‘m still posting this quote from Pride And Prejudice: “Yes, and her petticoat; I‘m sure you saw her petticoat, six inches deep in mud, I‘m absolutely certain.” 😂 5y
Kappadeemom I hope the main course is something that will stick to my ribs! 5y
marleed Not on a team but can‘t resist, ‘Hmm, my Dinner List, the 5 people dead or alive, I‘d invite ...‘ 5y
madamereadsalot1 "Can you believe she's wearing the same thing as me!?" 5y
MidnightBookGirl "Where's dessert? I'm wasting away here!" 5y
Sleepswithbooks “So I met this guy and he was such a wimp. I mean, he was literally gutless.” 5y
MsRadioSilence And do you remember the *last* dinner party? I have such a bone to pick with her! 5y
Linsy Are those spare ribs? (edited) 5y
Linsy Bone appetit! (edited) 5y
Linsy Not sure I have the stomach for this. (edited) 5y
Linsy Is this bone china? 5y
Linsy Hope this wine has some body to it. 5y
MartinaLove "This kid is bad to the bone" 5y
MartinaLove "Oh my god George, the dog took a bone again. Is it grandpa's or grandma's this time?" 5y
MartinaLove "You are so boneless" 5y
Sarahreadstoomuch “And, well, to make a long story short...” 5y
SomedayAlmost And why have they made us the face of poison? It‘s not like we invented it... 5y
MoonWitch94 Im starving, wasting away. 5y
Clwojick 😂 😂 😂 😂 and the extra 15 points go to @MartinaLove for her comment “Oh my god George, the dog took a bone again. Is it grandpa's or grandma's this time?“ 5y
44 likes31 comments
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MEGR
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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“How easily he gathered others‘ hands in his own now, channeling grief through his skin, relieving others of their sorrows for his loss.”

12 likes1 stack add
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MEGR
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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“There‘s something about me at that age that is trustworthy, that makes men think I will not judge them, though I do, all the time; I just keep it to myself.”

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MEGR
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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“As the service begins, a young woman slides over to make room for me in her pew. I hadn‘t planned to stay, but I nod my head in gratitude. And even though I don‘t believe, I take a seat.”

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MEGR
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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I‘ve been reading at a much sloooower rate lately. Instead of going out to eat I made red lentil soup with lemon 🍋, mint and a sprinkle of cilantro & red pepper. The kids are watching a movie 🎥 🍿and I am going to sink into this book tonight 😉 Happy Friday! 🎉

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nomadreader
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Road trip ready! Did I mention we're only going overnight? 😂

LiteraryinPA That looks about right! 😋 5y
Megabooks I liked Back Talk! Have a good trip! 5y
BBooks alright book sister 😂 5y
Tamra You never know! 5y
23 likes4 comments
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Booksnchill
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

This review is for Lazarin‘s short story “A Clean Break” day 12 of the Short Story Advent Calendar. Lazarin‘s story is about an extended Jewish family in the Bronx- Itzak and Julianne, mother and father. The bagel shop burns down, Julianne leaves Itzak and their child has her own children who weave the story of their family. Told effectively in main text and long footnotes- I could see their lives.

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mdemanatee
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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One of those days where I don‘t wanna leave bed. I‘ve been working more and socializing more and days where I can just laze around are my fave.

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Lupita.Reads
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

Another #bookandbeer post! This one is brought to you by 3 Stars Brewing Company & Back Talk! On another note, have we talked about what I like to call literary mic drops? It‘s when you come across a sentence or paragraph that literally feels like a mic drop and if often shakes you to your core. This book, man this book, has powerful mic drops that I felt helped me even heal a little bit! #Literarymicdrop

72 likes4 stack adds
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QuintusMarcus
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

I just loved this collection of short stories! The author has a very fine eye for detail, and is also deeply sensitive to her characters' different experiences - she portrays them very clearly and thoughtfully. Highly recommended: this is a deeply thoughtful and very enjoyable book.

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LauraBeth
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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I ❤️ short stories. - especially when read in the shadow of a beverage. Cheers to the person or team that has to stay up all night to do Litsy maintenance.

Signed,
A woman who is married to a man who constantly has to take servers down in the middle of the night for his job. It usually comes with a lot of stress and worry on their part (that no one ever sees).

Tadams4 That‘s perfect! Enjoy both! 7y
Reecaspieces I had not thought of that....my thoughts are with that person! 7y
saresmoore Enjoy! Even small-time web maintenance can be stressful. Cheers to @Litsy! 🍻 7y
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emilyhaldi Love that note ❤️ very true! 7y
Bookzombie This is so true! 💗 7y
CouronneDhiver Good point! Yay for IT people 7y
LiteraryinPA Great point! 7y
Megabooks Loved this book! 7y
Suet624 A lovely reminder. 7y
137 likes9 comments
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CoffeeK8
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

This book of short stories is like listening to close friends reminisce about the best and worst of girlhood... bittersweet, heartbreaking and hopeful.

monalyisha I put this on my list after visiting a local bookstore recently. So good to see a positive review! Hooray! 🙌🏻 7y
59 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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RachaelusGilkinius
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

Enjoyed this debut short story collection. Reminded me of Roxane Gay‘s DIFFICULT WOMEN, in that it encompasses a whole range of female voices and experiences. The first story, “Hide and Seek,” was so compelling I was jolted when it ended and I remembered it was a short story collection. A few stories at the end really stood out, too.

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Notafraidofwords
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

This short story collection (published this year) is blurbed as stories about women who don‘t hate themselves. Having read this, I can confirm that. What I like is the lack of motivation in these stories. What can happen a lot is that writers feel the need to explain the motivation of the character, but that doesn‘t happen here. In fact most of these women do not know why they do the things they do. That is refreshing, true to life and relatable.

Tamra Sounds good! 7y
Notafraidofwords @mauveandrosysky have you read this one? Do you like short story collections? I can send it your way next week. If not, let me know and I‘ll find another home for it. I think it‘s a quiet book and I think you‘ll like it. 7y
mauveandrosysky @Notafraidofwords ooh interesting! Thanks for thinking of me. I think it might be better loved by someone else though. I'm picky about short story collections and tend to take a while to get around to them. :) 7y
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Notafraidofwords No problem !! 7y
Notafraidofwords @Tamra mauveandrosysky does not want it. Do you want me to ship it to you? 7y
Tamra @Notafraidofwords totally! I really enjoy short stories. Thank you for sharing AGAIN. 💙 7y
Notafraidofwords @Tamra no problem :) 7y
Tamra @Notafraidofwords is your Litsy TBR up to date? 7y
Notafraidofwords @Tamra yes, it is. Litsy provides a lot of what I read. All of you littens are enablers. 7y
Megabooks Loved this book and excellent review! 7y
72 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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Megabooks
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Pickpick

Wow. The most amazing thing about these women-centered stories is that the women (or girls) are not attacking each other.

The author explores what it‘s like to be in junior high & what it‘s like to be single in your late 20s. Stand-out stories include The Holographic Soul, about a wife, husband, & 2 tween sisters that believe in telepathy (trust me), and the title story that slams down more in two pages than other collections do in 20. 5⭐️

100 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Megabooks
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Chilling in bed with Back Talk tonight. I‘m Really enjoying this young woman centric collection. So far, it‘s more impressive than A Selfie as Big as the Ritz. #shortstories

aditiag Looks good😉 7y
L_auren How have you been feeling? x 7y
Megabooks @aditiag 😃 it is! 7y
Megabooks @L_auren Still not well. Sigh. I‘m getting better but not as fast as I‘d like to. Thanks for asking and congratulations on your engagement! 👍🏻👍🏻🍾 7y
84 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Allietaylor16
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Looking forward to this one! I‘ve heard great things!

34 likes2 stack adds
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mrozzz
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Oh my gosh such a fun, feminist conversation was had between debut author Danielle Lazarin & her friend, the lovely Celeste Ng!!! 😍

Walked away with 2 signatures and a head full of story & essay ideas. 👍🏻

vivastory You're accumulating quite the collection of signed editions! 🤘📚👏 7y
BooksForEmpathy Gahhhh jealous!! 7y
mrozzz @vivastory nearly 2 shelves full! (edited) 7y
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swishandflick I need to get on your level with all of these awesome author events! 7y
mrozzz @swishandflick following all the bookstores on Facebook is key! 7y
93 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Liberty
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Day 6 of the @bookriot #Riotgrams Challenge: short stories! What better book to highlight that this fantastic collection of stories on its pub day! SO GOOD. 💛💚💜

balletbookworm Good picture! 7y
Well-ReadNeck ❤️📸 7y
108 likes10 stack adds2 comments
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iamliterate
Back Talk: Stories | Danielle Lazarin
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Really enjoying this collection of short stories from debut author Danielle Lazarin so far.

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