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Out of the Girls' Room and Into the Night: Stories
In Thisbe Nissen's award-winning debut story collection, characters teeter on the verge of love, of life, of oncoming cataclysms after which Things Will Never Be the Same. Against the varied backdrops of Grateful Dead shows, anniversary parties, sickrooms, and bright Manhattan vestibules, Nissen traces the joy, terror, and electric surprise that flash between people as the...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
October 17th 2000
by Anchor
(first published 1999)
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these were mostly great! it was a slightly uneven collection--some of the stories felt a little overwritten and "young author following a writing prompt-ish", but the rest were amazingly heartfelt and funny. we went to the same place for undergrad and my favorite story very, very obviously took place there. in the best way possible.
pg. 171 most aptly describes life my senior year: we thought we were prepared for anything. we communicated. we processed. we had a job wheel, and quiet hours, and h...more
pg. 171 most aptly describes life my senior year: we thought we were prepared for anything. we communicated. we processed. we had a job wheel, and quiet hours, and h...more
Thisbe Nissen's short story collection captures snippets of love. Each story is wildly different in tone, age of the characters, geographical location, and chronological era. It amazes me that Nissen is able to write with such authenticity from such divergent points of view. Almost every story points out some aspect of the human experience that I had not heretofore considered, or had maybe thought unique to myself. Nissen explores all types of love, as well, not just romantic. There is the young...more
Out of the Girls’ Room and Into the Night: Winner of Univeristy of Iowa’s Short Fiction Award, by Thisbe Nissen, Narrated by Caroline Miller, Produced by University of Iowa Audio Press, downloaded from audible.com.
This is a series of short stories about young women, mostly living in, but not originally from, New York. Some are still in highschool. They each have, in the course of a short story an experience or are part of an event that will change their lives. The last story, the title story, is...more
This is a series of short stories about young women, mostly living in, but not originally from, New York. Some are still in highschool. They each have, in the course of a short story an experience or are part of an event that will change their lives. The last story, the title story, is...more
I was close to giving this one a 5. The writing is strong, the tones and voices and perspectives were generally ambitious and appropriate to the plots and themes, and and many of not most of the plots read as original and unexpected and mature. For instance, the story about the children at Tanner School and the one about the girls in the house in college were so good; the collective narration in the latter was ambitious and impressive, and the children in the former felt real and genuine and fu...more
I agree with what a lot of the reviewers here have said. While I can recognize that the writing is good and that the structure is sound, the characters were often interchangable and the plot lines not all that compelling to me. Many of them felt quite dated--like they would have been really scandalous and exciting ten or fifteen years ago, but today, eh. I liked "819 Walnut" because of its collective narration. I also really enjoyed "The Animal's Best Interest". I also liked "The Mushroom Girl"...more
Thisbe Nissen was invited as a speaker to my college this year, and I was given the assignment of reading at least one of her books. I was disappointed with this collection. The writing feels dead, the settings and the characters need more "fleshing out" (I barely ever knew what to visualize, because she doesn't describe enough), and I thought most of the characters were interchangeable because they had no distinctive personalities for the most part. I also found her constant use of metaphors ex...more
my husband gave this to me for my 23rd birthday. now i'm 32. i read it back then and remember loving it, but have picked it up to read again. will surely report back after my reread. i just remember that the third story is called "when the rain washes you clean you'll know." and fleetwood mac lyrics are always gonna get my love. now and forever.
An enjoyable read with some fine, fine writing. Has some political themes that are at times a little overbearing, and the structure of many of the stories - odd, fragmented plots that often leave more questions than answers - is still on my mind. Nonetheless, Nissen creates a cast of compelling, fascinating characters that kept me driving through each story. Gotta love books about hippies and Deadheads.
This is a complete waste of $$$$$$$$
This book is just not good. It was recommended to me because I bought a Judy Budnitz book (which was a gem, like all her others). But after reading about half of the stories I can tell you that this book is not worth a dime. It reminds me of critiquing someone's work in a creative writing class. I don't want to be mean and I want to tell you SOMETHING good about this collection but really...its adolescent and lacks style. You can tell that the author really tr...more
This book is just not good. It was recommended to me because I bought a Judy Budnitz book (which was a gem, like all her others). But after reading about half of the stories I can tell you that this book is not worth a dime. It reminds me of critiquing someone's work in a creative writing class. I don't want to be mean and I want to tell you SOMETHING good about this collection but really...its adolescent and lacks style. You can tell that the author really tr...more
Yes, a few are a little workshoppy, a few are a little "Hello, I am a mysterious 2-page short story that has no middle or end," but every story was interesting and touching in some way and struck a chord with the emotional and slightly angsty child/middle/high/college/adult in me.
Book dish: cookies.
Book dish: cookies.
If the sign of a good short story is that you're annoyed when you turn the page and find out it's over because you want to know what happens to the characters tomorrow, then this collection get full marks.
'819 Walnut' 'Apple Pie' 'At the No. 1 Phoenix Garden' 'Way Back When In The Now Before Now' '3 1/2 x 5'
I read this in Florence and it is an exceptionally weird and strange book, but very good.
See my blog for the review: http://thestoryisthecure.blogspot.com/
Great for a first read but I think she's better suited for novels.
Great book. I've read it twice. Chick-lit.
Terrific collection of stories. Loved it.
I agree with some of the other reviewers that it seems like the same character written over and over. I really enjoyed the first story, but I got tired of so much of the same. The writing is very poetic and lyrical, but became too repetitive for me.
I probably would have loved this if I'd read it 15 years ago...now, not so much. Well crafted writing but the stories themselves felt really forced. I get the feminine angst angle but it I would have felt a lot "cooler" after having read this at 16 or 17 rather than in my 30's.
Thisbe Nissen is a wonderful writer - real, raw, funny, sad, and sexual - can't believe this was her first book...
Nissen's collection consists of 16 coming-of-age stories that primarily deal with sexuality and sexual orientation and negative body image. My favorites in the collection are 3 1/2 x 5, Apple Pie, Accidental Love, Out of the Girl's Room and into the Night, and 819 Walnut. What I love most is that I was able to read the stories separately and appreciate them individually, but by the end I was also able to appreciate it as a whole.
In general, I really really like Thisbe Nissen. I think she puts a new spin on the traditional coming of age story. I've actually given her short stories to actresses in plays I've worked on as a reference for how I think about their characters. She writes about people that are a little bit on the fringes of society and she is able to impart grace and beauty to difficult subjects and life moments.
While the book did exceed my expectations, it didn't leave me satisfied. There were definitely a couple of good stories, characters, quips, etc. but overall, there wasn't too much depth. A lot of the characters were the same, "struggling" with the same surface issues. It's not a book I would recommend to friends unless they were incredibly bored and this was one of a few bleak options.
A collection of short stories dealing with love, abandonment, hope, and security. The author does a nice job of giving a hint of resolution for the stories without going overboard. I had wished some of the characters would have been more entertaining and quirky as was in the "The Animal's Best Interest" towards the end of the collection.
i remember feeling deceived when reading this book years ago -- it read completely as young adult fiction for girls; why did i even pick it up? perhaps i was seduced by the cover's elegant design. i've read some of thisbe's more recent work and enjoyed her style, but not this collection.
A lovely collection of short stories ranging from the quirky to the very touching. There will be at least one story here to tug on your heart or make you smile. I wish Thisbe would write more short stories so that I can keep reading them.
I'm glad I finally got around to reading these stories. I really, really like this writer's "voice". There were a couple of times when I thought she needed to, y'know, kill her darlings, but overall this is a lovely collection.
another award winner: another disappointed expectation. maybe i just couldn't relate to the exploration of lesbian/bicurious relationships that comprised many of the stories. i did enjoy 3 1/2 x 5.
I really appreciated how Nissen brought varied points of view to her short stories. The characters are not as simplistic as they seem...they feel very real. It was a great book for reading on the bus!
Among other things, Nissen is a master of Point of View, trying out every possible window that can be set up between the reader and the main character -- and she exploits all the options to incredible effect.
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Thisbe Nissen is the author of the story collection, Out of the Girls' Room and into the Night, and two novels, The Good People of New York and Osprey Island. She also co-authored-and-collaged The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook with Erin Ergenbright. Thisbe's work is forthcoming, or has recently been published in Story Quarterly, The Virginia Quarterly, Glimmer Train, and The Cincinnati Review. She's taugh...more
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