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more than a few diamonds in the rough Like most CDs named after one of the songs on them, the title of Thisbe Nissen's first collection shares the same title as one of the worst of this 25-story set. The stories, which run from one to 21 pages long, range from choppy and weak to steady and well-rounded. She seems to have a tireless drive and knack for dead-on metaphors, but her overall style warrants improvement. Thisbe Nissen grew up in Manhattan. After studying creative writing at Oberlin College she completed the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop and became a James Michener-Paul Engle fellow at the school. Out of the Girls 'Room and into the Night is a collection of short stories, many previously published in magazines such as Seventeen and New Orleans Review. Nissen writes about love, but not in the cheesy, overly romantic sort of way. She is more matter-of fact, except for her less refined efforts, like "Mailing Incorrectly," which features a woman obsessed with deciphering her previous lover's torn letter and stalking a man she calls the "New Age Carpenter." Most of Nissen's tales deal with the post-college-aged crowd. There are a potpourri of Deadheads, anorexics, starry-eyed teenage girls, lonely lovers and whole families in transition. The shorter of the short stories seem underdeveloped and lack adequate conflict for an enjoyable read, save for "3 1/2 x 5." In no more than five paragraphs, Nissen successfully compares the "empty sentiments" and "canned endearment" of a postcard with a daughter's false wholeness of love toward her mother. Vague and underdeveloped pieces like the two-page "29th Street Playground, September 1968," seem more like notes than an entire story. Where she lets herself write more than a few pages of fuzzy scenes, Nissen's stories are ripe with familiar metaphors and likeable characters. She captures the freedom of a Greyhound bus to a runaway teen in "How Beautifully Resiliant the Human Being." "You're the one on the bus, a bus headed west since there is no more east in Massachusetts, and you think you understand that sometimes the only thing in the world you can count on is a Greyhound bus..." Her characters are easy to relate to. When Gwynn's best friend hooks up with Donovan's best friend in "What Safety Is," the two end up in bed together by way of circumstance and too much alcohol. Gwynn tries to encourage herself to complete the night by having sex with him. "She can do this. She can do this almost without thinking what she's doing. She's exhausted, sick, but she wants to do this: wants something to blot out everything else, obliterate it all..." Straightforward metaphors are what carry Nissen's best efforts. Even though you aren't elementary student Addie in "Flowers in the Dustbin," you probably know the harsh frustration she feels when her supposed best friend belittles her. "Addie feels paralyzed, like Kirsten is changing the rules to the world and Addie will be left behind." The beauty of short story collections is that you can skip over the bad ones and spend time reading the good. Nissen is at her best in her longer pieces of work. Out of the Girls' Room and into the Night seems like the workbook for what will probably be an excellent novel. exceptional This book was very good, but I didn't write a review to praise this book, only to coreect "Tiara"'s misconception. Gwynne doesn't end up with Donovan because of alcohol. Do you know why she had to tell herself, "I can do this, I can do this . . ." She is a lesbian who is in love with her best friend, and she feels betrayed when Darcy hooks up with a guy. Gwynne obviously isn't ready to tell Darcy how she feels, so when Darcy hooks up with Donovan's best friend--Gwynne decides to play it straight, so to speak. I missed this the first time I read it, along with other themes in some of the other stories. Wonderful Very believable, original, emotionally-evocotive work. As I read these stories I feel admiration for the author's sensitivity, deep life-awareness and skillful use of language to convey her characters and their situations. They are jammed with aliveness and flavour. Very enjoyable. Beautiful and disarming collection of short stories! Out of the Girls' Room and Into the Night has several of the most memorable short stories I've read as of late. This collection of quirky and disarming stories is thought provoking and disturbing at times. The ones that touched me the most were the ones centered on eating disorders, infidelity and death. "Grog," "The Mushroom Girl," "Flowers in the Dustbin, Poison in the Human Machine," and "Accidental Love" are my favorites. The aforementioned stories spoke to me. Are you in the bargain for a literary short story collection centered on women? I suggest you pick up this gem! Another Iowa success story Being a student at The University of Iowa, where the author attended the number one writers workshop in the nation, I know her ability. This collection is so real and relatable. The stories paint beautiful pictures of what life is like. If you want to read something real with great language and presence this is it! See also:
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