Published in 2002
144 pages
Sheila Heti is the author of eight books of fiction and non-fiction, including the novels Ticknor, Motherhood, and How Should a Person Be? and the story collection, The Middle Stories. She was named one of “The New Vanguard” by The New York Times book critics; a list of fifteen women writers from around the world who are “shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century.” Her books have been translated into twenty-two languages.
She is the former Interviews Editor of The Believer magazine, and has conducted many long-form print interviews with writers and artists, including Joan Didion, Elena Ferrante, Agnes Varda, Dave Hickey and John Currin. Her fiction and criticism have appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Bookforum, n+1, Granta, The London Review of Books, and elsewhere.
She has spoken at the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, the New Yorker Festival, the 92nd Street Y, the Hammer Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and at universities across North America, and at festivals internationally.
She is the founder of the Trampoline Hall lecture series, appeared in Margaux Williamson’s film Teenager Hamlet. She lives in Toronto.
What is this book about?
Heti’s first book is a collection of thirty short stories. It was published in 2001 when she was twenty-four. It has been translated into German, French, Spanish and Dutch. The Middle Stories is a strikingly original collection of stories, fables, and short brutalities that are alternately heartwarming, cruel, and hilarious.
A 5-star review by Ryan from goodreads:
I am so enthralled with Heti’s short stories. They’re give the impression of short, modern fairy tales, but without any discernible moral or purpose. They seem to challenge the reader to find some meaning in them, then veer away from closure or moral at the last moment. Some are depressing, some are heartbreaking, some are just downright amusing. Highly recommended, if you can find a copy of this woefully underprinted collection.
Another goodreads review by Marie-Therese, 4-stars:
Tiny, deceptively simple stories written in a deadpan style that frequently masks the visceral poetry and punch of Heti’s individual sentences. While an occasional tale here comes off as slightly twee or underbaked, most are subtly disturbing and a few are genuinely powerful and moving. This little book can be read in about an hour but its effect on the emotions lingers on long afterwards.
A 2-star review by Leanne from goodreads:
I don’t really know what to make of these. I enjoy the deep weirdness of the stories, but they’re sort of like little fairytales that cut off at a random moment and have no moral. It’s a bit disorienting, although sometimes also funny.
