In an era of “hot takes” and easy generalizations, this collection reclaims the absurdities and paradoxes of life as it is actually lived from the American fantasy of “niceness”.
Returning to short fiction following her novel Mrs. (2018), Macy (Spoiled, 2009) introduces characters unified by a sense of disorientation and outsider status in her second collection… Macy renders each character’s emotional complexities in thoughtful detail. With nuanced storytelling and memorable settings, she draws readers into the minds of people struggling to live as different versions of themselves.–Booklist
Macy impresses with strange internal monologues . . . . [and] dragging the reader, along with her characters, out of their comfort zone.–Publishers Weekly
Macy (Mrs.) brings these stories to life with a sharp moral critique and an observant eye–Library Journal
In the well-heeled milieu of New York’s Upper East Side, coolly elegant Philippa Lye is the woman no one can stop talking about. Despite a shadowy past, Philippa has somehow married the scion of the last family-held investment bank in the city. And although her wealth and connections put her in the center of this world, she refuses to conform to its gossip-fueled culture.
Learn MoreMrs. could be the next Big Little Lies.-Entertainment Weekly
Deeply moving, hugely entertaining, utterly brilliant. As an observer of human behavior Macy rivals Tom Wolfe and Edward St. Aubyn. Mrs. is a major novel, and Macy is an essential American voice.-Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians
I love novels that are both rousing and intelligent, and Mrs. was just that–a riveting, complex, and potent story of money, friendships, and family. Macy masters New York’s Upper East Side because she goes beyond the vanities and delves into its layers, its distinct voices and characters. She puts you in the territory of the well-heeled and shows their heart and soul.-Kaui Hart Hemmings, author of The Descendants
If you’ve ever wondered how Edith Wharton would treat the twenty-first century Manhattan elite, look no further. –Elle
Entertaining…sharply observed… –Kirkus
Piercing and honest… –Publishers Weekly
Impossible-to-put-down… –Booklist
Opens brilliantly, with the makings of a terrific screenplay… –NPR
Caitlin Macy’s debut novel The Fundamentals of Play was heralded as a Gatsbyesque examination of love and class in Manhattan. Now, in her sophisticated and provocative story collection Spoiled, Macy turns her unsparing eye on affluent and educated women who nevertheless struggle to keep their footing in their relationships and life.
Learn MoreDissects the lives of the rich and miserable with tender but surgical precision. This is what happens to gossip girls twenty years down the line.-Time
Wickedly smart, unwittingly timely…attains a wonderfully transgressive, Cheever-like honesty.-Vogue
Laser-sharp…probes the heartbreak of high expectations, the self-hatred that can go hand and hand with a ferocious sense of entitlement. Read it and squirm.-O: The Oprah Magazine
Funny, absurd familiar…Thanks to Macy’s knack for detail and clarity the stories never feel distant.-The New York Times Book Review
What Macy renders so well in these stories…is the queasy nature of self-deception.-San Francisco Chronicle
Caitlin Macy’s remarkable first novel is an evocation of a time and a place in which those things that were always so dependable–money, class, family–are threatened on all sides.
Learn MoreA marvel–a thrillingly intelligent, witty and tragic look at love and class in Manhattan.-Newsweek
Brilliantly portrays the onset of a new age and its ideals… [Macy’s] portrait of life in New York is realistic both in its vibrancy and loneliness.-Chicago Tribune
Macy [is] an ambitious and graceful writer… Her ye for the sparks that fly when her honed and not so honed sensibilities rub together is nearly unerring.-The New Yorker
The Fundamentals of Play is a graceful, poignant tale of thwarted love….The book works because of an all-too-rare quality in first novels–its grace.-The Hartford Courant