Libby's review of Bad Behavior
Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill
I'm reading a story at a time from this collection, a pace which is dictated by mixed feelings about Gaitskill's work. Last night I read the first piece, "Daisy's Valentine." I really like how unadorned Gaitskill's language is; the few times she allows herself to indulge in more lyrical imagery the language is spot-on and perfectly evocative, further honing the edge of all that is in contrast to it. She uses rhythm and structure to render interesting, intelligent sentences that remain absolutely readable. However, I find her characters to be kind of vapid and cold, which I don't think is by any means accidental--I'm just not sure I find their particular forms of selfishness all that compelling.
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