Creative Types

Book 32 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from April 20 - 24

Note: I read an ARC provided from NetGalley (full disclaimer in my review)

Creative Types: And Other Stories

by Tom Bissell

Summary (via Goodreads)

expected publication: October 2020 

A young and ingratiating assistant to a movie star makes a blunder that puts his boss and a major studio at grave risk. A couple hires a partner for a threesome to rejuvenate their relationship after the birth of their child. An assistant at a prestigious literary journal reconnects with a middle school frenemy and finds his carefully constructed world of refinement cannot protect him from his past.

In these and other stories, Tom Bissell vividly renders the complex worlds of characters on the brink of artistic and personal crisis--writers, actors, and other creative types who see things slightly differently from the rest of us. Surreal, poignant, squirmingly awkward--and always just a little bit off--this collection is a brilliant new offering from one of the most versatile and talented writers in America today.

My Opinion

4 stars

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book**

I really liked the majority of these stories.  They were character-driven but in foreign places so it made them a little more exotic than typical "slice-of-life" stories.  They were unpredictable with varied themes throughout the stories so it didn't feel repetitive as some short story collections can.

I cringed multiple times while reading; that's not a bad thing but a description of when an author keeps you on your toes because you don't know what's going to happen and it's a little uncomfortable as you find out.  Sometimes it was intentional to the story, such as the realistic "foot-in-mouth" awkward conversations in "Creative Types".  Sometimes I'm not sure it was as intentional - "The Hack" read a little creepy to me since it was about real people and I'm not familiar enough with the author or actors to know if there's a backstory I'm missing.  Sometimes it was "so bad it's funny", such as some of the descriptions during sex scenes ("his cock was as warm as a mouthful of blood" - definitely descriptive but not expected or appealing).

I would definitely read this author again.