Somebody with a Little Hammer: Essays

Fans will love it. Disappointing as a whole though, the sum of the parts comes to a tiny little hammer.

If you're a fan of Gaitskill's writing, chances are you've caught some of these essays when they were published in magazines or anthologies, but it doesn't hurt to read them again. They're arranged more or less chronologically, so reading through from beginning to end gives a sort of interesting time travel sensation. A few of them gain a great deal if you've actually read or heard the piece of work she's commenting on, but most of them are developed and emotionally complex enough that you don't necessarily need to do a bunch of preparatory work before cracking this book. The positive things usually said about Gaitskill's work are definitely true, here, but this is the first time I've really felt a riveting empathy while reading her. I know, in my mind, that times before I was born were populated by real thinking, feeling, complicated people, but something in me references emotion as a very transient thing, something that often doesn't leave any visible marks, that can't be fully excavated or recovered. But Gaitskill is so attuned to the emotion of common things, that it makes sense that she'd be able to share the echo of both personal and cultural feelings from decades and movements past. She'll take you places: an oddly tattered Russia, a classy strip joint, her old apartment in Syracuse, but she succeeds in bringing you to the 60's and the 80's and the emotional imbroglio of everyday people just as effectively. That isn't common at all.

I will read anything by Mary Gaitskill. These essays invite the reader to think and rethink so many important issues.

I liked the lengths of the stories. I used them as part of my reading day.

This is a fantastic collection of occasional essays & more. Gaitskill does go the heart of things, an understatement, and proves her ability to take the trivial and transform it into evocative meaning. Magic &, as it is a collection, something for everyone. If you enjoy her fiction, you will love these gems.