Mary Gaitskills tales of desire and dislocation in 1980s New York caused a sensation with their frank caustic portrayals of men and womens inner lives As her characters have sex try and fail to connect play power games and inflict myriad cruelties on each other she skewers urban life with precision and candourStubbornly original with a sort of rhythm and fine moments that flatten you out when you dont expect it these stories are a pleasure to read Alice MunroAn air of Pinteresque menace hangs over these peoples social exchanges like black funereal bunting Gaitskill writes with such authority such radarperfect detail Michiko Kakutani The New York Times
