Bearded Women: Stories

by Teresa Milbrodt

A woman trying to have a child has a parasitic twin, an extra lower torso, and set of legs named Bianca—should she have 'Bianca''s Body' removed to improve her chances at conception? A bearded lady considers coming out of the closet about her hirsute nature, while carrying on a battle of wills with an overeating patron in 'Mr. Chicken'. A woman with four ears gets a chance to make extra money as the mascot of a tattoo parlour, and encounters a middle-aged, cookie-baking stalker who believes she is a sign that the end of the world is nigh.

Meet the "freaks"—they're mothers, wives, and lovers: all of them trying negotiate a world that is quicker to stare than sympathize.

Genres: Short Stories, Speculative Fiction, Fiction, Collections, Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Ebooks

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Teresa Milbrodt is the author of three short story collections: Instances of Head-Switching, Bearded Women: Stories, and Work Opportunities. She has also published a novel, The Patron Saint of Unattractive People, and a flash fiction collection, Larissa Takes Flight: Stories. Her fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in numerous literary magazines. She earned her MFA in Fiction and MA in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University, and her PhD in English from the University of Missouri.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks.*

Conjoined twins, a cyclops gal, bearded beauties, Medusas, giants, people with extra ears, limbs and skin...they're all par for the course here. And they're not freaks, not really. They're just trying to lead normal lives. Just like the rest of us. They hold dull, meaningless jobs while raising kids and falling in and out of love. Sometimes their tempers get the better of them and they burst into flames, but seriously...who hasn't felt their blood boil at some of the idiocies we face everyday?


Like another favorite author of mine, Aimee Bender, Milbrodt hooks you immediately with her opening lines:

My second lower torso grows out two inches to the left of my navel.

You'd very much like the three-legged man.

The skin flaps ran the length of my body from my wrists to my ankles so I looked something like a flying squirrel.

It's called ichthyosis, but all that matters is that my skin is scaly and the scales flake off.


Unless you possess not a curious bone in your body, it's hard to stop reading stories that begin like these. Luckily, the tales live up to their mesmerizing starts and continue to enthrall the whole way through.

I loved this collection. I suspect it's not for everyone, but if you like quirky characters and are looking to venture off the beaten path, you may love these stories as much as I did.


*David Was/Don Was

[Lexyvs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up my copy of Bearded Women at Toronto’s Word on the Street festival last month, and finally finished it. I’m going to say right now that my slowness in finishing had absolutely nothing at all to do with the book. I got married last week, so suffice it to say that my then fiancé (now husband) and I had a lot to do, and sadly not a lot of time to read. But even with everything going on, I didn’t want to put Bearded Women down.

Each story in the book is about someone who, if this were seventy or eighty years ago, would have made a living in a side show. But it isn’t seventy years ago, and each of these characters are living their lives in the 21st century and trying to get by, just like the rest of us. There’s a cyclops woman who is trying to save her family’s diner while dealing with the knowledge of a congenital disease that will eventually cause her to go blind. A modern day gorgon who has snakes for hair, but also has to work two jobs to pay for her college education while dealing with the unwanted advances of her creepy Greek mythology teacher. And a woman who is so angry at her mother and sister’s inability to get along that it literally causes her to combust. Teresa Milbrodt has created amazing, real, heartbreaking and relatable characters in this well crafted series of short stories.

What I really like, as a rule, about short story collections is that you can pick them up, read one of the stories, and put it down again until you’re ready to read the next. No pressure, no worries, no rush. You’ll never be stuck in the position of staying up all night reading (even though you know your alarm is going to go off in just a few hours) because you can finish the story that you’re reading and know that the next in line will be patiently waiting for you pick up the book the next day. That was definitely not the case with Bearded Women. It took over, and I wanted to finish it. I wanted to know what character was going to be next, and what trials and tribulations they would be forced to face in their life. To me, that is the sign of a great collection of short fiction. I finished one story, then devoured the next and the next and the next and was actually irritated when I didn’t have time to read the next story.

If you like short stories, and love great characters then I absolutely recommend that you pick up Bearded Women. It’s a fantastic, cathartic and very well written series of stories.

If you'd like to read more of my reviews, stop by my website at http://www.ginandrhetoric.com. See you there!

[Calisto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet the 'freaks' - they're mothers, wives, and lovers: all of them trying negotiate a world that is quicker to stare than sympathize.

"What the ef are you reading, Cali?" That's probably what you're thinking, right? Trust me. I totally hear yah. LOL. So let me explain. I am a cover snob. It doesn't matter if it's a bestseller or a self-pub. I look at covers and critique them (though I'm way more understanding of self-pubs). Anyone who says bookcovers aren't important is naive. It doesn't matter if it's digital or dead tree, covers grab attention before blurbs can sell the book.

The cover of Bearded Women Stories grabbed my attention. I confess that my first thought was, "What's Jesus doing in a dress?" Then I saw the title and thought I have to read this wtfery. But it was

Meet the 'freaks' - they're mothers, wives, and lovers: all of them trying negotiate a world that is quicker to stare than sympathize.

that sold me on reading this book.

This is a set of short stories about 'freaks' and I have to say it was quite wonderful. Don't get me wrong, it is weird but it is also poignant and the characters come to life. I couldn't help but think of the best Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories episodes. It has been a long time since I've read short stories where the characters jumped and grabbed my attention from the beginning. Maybe it was because they were freaks. Maybe it was because the stories were so compellingly written. Maybe it was because I haven't been in this 'genre' for years. Maybe it is all that and more.

What I can definitely say is that there isn't a 'bad' story in the bunch. Some are better than others. My favorites were Snakes and Things I've Been Meaning To Tell You, though Seventeen Episodes in the Life of a Giant, nearly made me cry.

These are more 'slices of life' then a full stories, so be prepared to go..."Wait! What do you mean it's over?" But in the end these might leave you thinking that weird isn't necessarily bad, just different. I definitely recommend these stories, especially if you are in a reading rut and looking for something completely different.

ARC provided by ChiZine Publications via Netgalley.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dehumanized by a world which has used their oddities for entertainment purposes, the women in Teresa Milbrodt's Bearded Women Stories challenge our thoughts on genetic variances and humanity and how we view our own selves. With wit and charm, she beautifully weaves short stories about women who are as real as we, who are strong in the presence of adversity, and whose only desire is to live their lives, embracing those aspects which make them so different than those around them. These stories of women cause us to examine our own thoughts and challenge the big top freak spectacular.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

[Ian Mond · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you'd like to hear - rather than read - my thoughts on Bearded Women Stories, please visit episode 35 of The Writer and The Critic podcast with my co-host Kirstyn McDermott

http://writerandcritic.podbean.com/20...

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was almost impossible not to love. The stories are creative and funny, sad, and touching all at the same time. Like nothing I've read before and I hope to read more like it!

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stories about women - giants and conjoined twins, bearded and tattooed, and those prone to spontaneously combust - and moments in their lives; perhaps inevitably, many of these stories resemble each other, but Milbrodt rather cleverly, every so often, makes these characters outward appearances pleasingly inconsequential to the outcome of the story.

[InvisaWriter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit that this is not the type of book I would normally pick up in the store. I have a tendency of judging books by their covers, which is in direct opposition to the old adage admonishing against such behaviour. It isn’t even that the cover of the book is bad, It’s a great cover, in fact, I’d probably thumb through it a little before I ended up buying something else, all the while wishing I had purchased this book. I have a habit of staying in the wonderfully expansive and quite perfectly adequate albeit stagnant pool of classic literature. I do it because there is no way I’ll ever be able to read every single book that ever came out by all the authors I’d wish to read, so I stay there not growing into the realm of new and interesting and wonderful new books.

This book stopped me from doing that. I picked up this book and read the entire thing in one sitting. I hadn’t done that since I read Nathan Englander’s the 27th Man. The book is a collection of short stories written by Teresa Milbrodt an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and English at Western State College of Colorado. The book centers around people who would have been relegated to freak shows in days past but now live their lives in an ordinary world with extraordinary bodies. The First story of the book centers around a woman who is trying to conceive a child; however, she also has a parasitic twin. You can check out the sample of the First Chapter on Amazon.com.

The stories are amazing. Each one is an everyday story about a problem that almost any of us can face, trying to conceive, debt, abusive partners and more all the while telling the stories of freaks, or characters from myths. The writing is concise, straight the point, and doesn’t put on any airs. Often, a problem of writers who have gone through Creative Writing Masters of Fine Arts programs have a problem writing real timeless stories. Milbrodt avoids most of those pitfalls and just writes a good story. I wasn’t particularly fond of all the stories and a few characters seemed not to act in accordance to their written personality but we all have faults. I give this story a 4 out of 5.

I also posted this review on my blog Write Read Watch

Disclosure: I received a promotional copy of this book from NetGalley.com. This has in no way influenced my review and my assessment is my fair and honest opinion.

[Sara Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not even sure how to categorize this book. It's beautiful and touching with just a touch of sarcasm and wit. This collection of short stories has to be the best I have ever read.
The description from NetGalley is this: Welcome to the contemporary Freak Show. A woman trying to have a child has a parasitic twin, an extra lower torso, and set of legs named Bianca—should she have "Bianca's Body" removed to improve her chances at conception? A bearded lady considers coming out of the closet about her hirsute nature, while carrying on a battle of wills with an overeating patron in "Mr. Chicken." A woman with four ears gets a chance to make extra money as the mascot of a tattoo parlour, and encounters a middle-aged, cookie-baking stalker who believes she is a sign that the end of the world is nigh. Meet the "freaks"—they're mothers, wives, and lovers: all of them trying negotiate a world that is quicker to stare than sympathize.
I figured it was up my alley. What I didn't expect was something so visceral and emotional. This is not a freak show but an expose of what it's like to live as someone who is different. The first story Bianca's Body was more than a tale about a woman with a parasitic twin. This nameless woman struggles with jealousy over that part of her body that seems to be more receptive to her husband, the pain of not being able to maintain a pregnancy and the identity of who she really is. It's the perfect introduction to Teresa Milbrodt's world.
The writing is a little odd which only adds to the work. Many of the characters are unnamed and the stories a brief snapshot of their lives. Some left me wondering and others felt complete. This is one I am glad to review and such a gem that will sadly be overlooked by those who would appreciate it most.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s almost impossible to resist the urge to stand up with a megaphone screaming, “Step right up, step right up! Come one, come all!” when introducing Teresa Milbrodt’s Bearded Women Stories. Bearded Women Stories, while very unimaginatively titled, is a poignant collection of short stories that doesn’t focus solely on the unusual physical conditions of the people but on their basic human struggles. It’s not difficult to empathize with these people because many people have tried to have a baby, struggled with taking care of their families, have co-dependent relationships, etc.

I would not deign to use the word “freak” to describe the people in this book as I find it insensitive, but there is an array of different kinds of people in which one catches glimpses into their lives: a cyclops, a closeted bearded woman, a medusian, a woman that starts to spontaneously combust when she is angered, to name a few. I feel that Ms Milbrodt’s stories are an allegory for the human struggles of the internally weak. While there are confident characters in the book, because of the judgment of their outward appearances, I think that their insecurities in themselves and their situations rise above their strength.

Ms Milbrodt weaves beautiful, heartfelt and achingly sad stories with her sideshow, which deserve to be on the main stage. Simply amazing.

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy from netgalley for free. There was no compensation made for my review; it is my own, unadulterated opinion

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come one, come all and see the macabre, the strange and the beautiful world of those the world deems freaks! From conjoined twins to bearded woman to people with extra body parts ranging from a whole extra torso and set of legs, to some extra ears, to a cyclops, a giantess, a Medusa – even a Butterfly Woman! You will thrill to the sensuous legs on Bianca’s Body – you will chill at the woman who spontaneously combusts when she becomes angry – you will fill with the woman who finds herself by joining eating competitions – you will wince with the pain of the girl with ichthyosis – you will gaze in awe at the holes in a woman’s hands! Step right up, step right up – the show is about to begin …

I really did enjoy these stories – it showed the human side of those the world would label freaks; it showed the sorts of things they did to survive and thrive in a world that sometimes thinks they should have been killed at birth. One thing that troubled me – but I think it was because the author wanted to make a point – was that so many of the stories didn’t provide a name for the “freak” - just called them things like “the cyclops” or “the three-legged man.” It dehumanized them. Then again, they tend to be dehumanized by the world, and, as I mentioned, I think that was a point that Ms. Milbrodt was trying to make. I highly recommend this amazing anthology.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these stories. They are interesting and warm with an emotional connection that strikes something deep inside. It's interesting, each of these stories involve freaks, but it doesn't seem like that when I read. Despite how obviously different the characters are, they seem like so many people I've known. People I've been close to. When it comes down to it, their problems are the same problems we can identify with. I've heard it said that we can't see the familiar, that the way our brain works we overlook anything familiar in order to look for something different. Perhaps here the bearded females, conjoined twins, and such are different enough that we can look at them with fresh eyes. Because attention is attracted we can look in new ways at problems that are always with us. Regardless, these stories are enjoyable and highly compelling.

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started out worried that this collection was going to be at least a little exploitative or dehumanizing, based on the title and theme, but it wasn't that at all. It was the opposite of that. I never anticipated how moved I was going to be. The stories all explore the body and identity in different ways, some bodies falling within the breadth of human variation (conjoined twins, gigantism, ichthyosis) and a few not (cyclops, medusa). In all of them we explore the person, the way they negotiate their life and the way they relate to other people and to themselves, the way they confront the varied and mundane challenges of the everyday.

The more I read of this, the more I loved it.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically not much of a short story reader, I was captivated from the start. Yes, each amazing freaky attribute possessed by the women in these tales is fantastically interesting in an of itself, but here's the hook: the real beauty, the real genius, is in the matter-of-fact normalcy possessed by each character, and the unbiased community built around each of these women that allows them to be unabashedly, unashamedly themselves.
Fun, strange, and often whimsical, this book is a pleasure to read.

[Wondy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect out of this book, and did in fact brace myself for a bunch of stories about ~weirdos and freaks~ in the way that makes me want to huck books across the room. Fortunately, what I found was a collection of really fucking awesome stories about identity and difference and bodies.

A+ Theresa Milbrodt, would read again.

Now I must make my wife, who is the best bearded lady, read these.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started this book before Christmas, but finished it after. It's a collection of stories featuring bearded women, siamese twins, and people with other physical or emotional oddities. (Holes in their palms, extra skin flaps, giantism etc).

I loved this book. It was wonderfully odd, creative and funny, and told stories about extraordinary people facing ordinary things like change and loneliness.

I also liked the style of writing.

Recommended.

[Nancy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of short stories whose main characters are what might be called freaks but whose concerns are familiar to most of us (love, aging, infertility, parents, siblings). There is a cool, matter-of-fact tone to the prose but that only heightens the emotional impact.

[Emily Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

while the stories did not follow the theme I expected given the title, they were well-written, heart warming and relatable. given the cast of characters in each story, this is a great feat as there is something about each that is redeeming.

[Rick Claypool · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart prose and compelling characters each with their own endearingly warped perspectives. A weird and worthwhile read.

[Pavarti Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection full of insight and grace. I'm overwhelmed by the talent of the author here. Thank you! Looking forward to finding more work by her!

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful stories about our common humanity regardless of our form. An inspiration about living authentically.

[Jade Eby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements

This cover is absurd yet crazy awesome. It’s what initially made me want to read this novel. But the words within the story is what kept me reading. The blurb is pretty amazing too. This book is basically made up of “freaks” with stories to tell.

The Good: What I didn’t expect to find in this novel was such great writing. It was beautifully written but it had this strange, lyrical feel to it. The thing I loved about this novel was that even though each of the short stories contained a “freak” per se, their emotions and feelings of being different were relatable, tangible and so very real. These stories aren’t so much tales of being a Cyclops or having a beard… they are stories about people who are different and who are trying to come to terms with the reality of the outside world looking into their lives. They want to be recognized for who they are on the inside, but that’s not always possible and this novel attempts to explain why. I loved that the novel was comprised of short stories. It felt like it made the novel go by really fast. I also loved getting more than one POV from a “freak.” It was interesting the way the author was able to seamlessly move from story to story.

The Bad: There were some stories that seemed to linger a bit longer than necessary and didn’t hold my interest as much as I would have hoped. There were some stories didn’t end to my liking but that could be because I wanted more story or I wanted solid conclusion.

Overall, this book is a wonderful and touching look at what it means to be different. I give this book a B+ and recommend it for anyone looking for a strange, new book.

**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it would be. It wasn't bad but it wasn't phenomenal either. You're presented with several short stories focusing on varied individuals and a small portion of their lives or the people around them. The reason this book is only 3 stars to me is that there is little reason to care about any of these stories. They're the "average joes" with some "weird" stapled on. I feel all of the stories could've benefited from several paragraphs to several pages more. There would've been time to develop a reason to care about these characters that are relatively unremarkable. "The three legged man" didn't even get a name in his story, despite the main emphasis being that he was a normal sight for the people in the town.

In essence the book is as unremarkable as the characters in it, which could very well be the point. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad. It was just it. Some people may find it boring as there is more 'telling' than 'showing' in some of the stories.

[Johanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are hits and misses, in my oppinion. More hits than misses and the hits are spot on. I listened to it through audible and though I love a good short story collection I don't like them so much on audio because it can easily get confusing but this one was worth it. I am def getting the ebook as well so I can actually read these gems.

[Veronica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly and a waste of time.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best collection of short stories that I've ever read!

[Cambria · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the stories are gems! (minus the last two which were just meh)

[Frances Brent]

It is a circus sideshow world, orisit really? Emotions and relationships are searingly human in a world that could be a nightmare, but isn't.

[Karl]

This is copy 1 of 150 signed numbered copies.