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  • Published: 29 September 2020
  • ISBN: 9780857527479
  • Imprint: Doubleday
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $19.99

Help Yourself

Three scalding stories from the bestselling author of AMERICAN WIFE




From the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of RODHAM comes a dazzling collection of stories that celebrates our humanity in all its pettiness and glory.

'Nobody else writes with such precision and amusement about the absolute inability of men and women to understand each other' RED MAGAZINE

'Recommended for anyone who enjoys short stories. She really doesn't shy away from sticky, nuanced subjects ... delivered with absolute poise. Delicious' PANDORA SYKES, The High-Low podcast
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Sittenfeld's wryly hilarious and insightful new collection, HELP YOURSELF, illuminates human experience and gracefully upends our assumptions about class and race, envy and disappointment, gender and celebrity.

Suburban friends fall out after a racist encounter at a birthday party is caught on video and posted on Facebook; an illustrious Manhattan film crew are victims of their own snobbery when they underestimate a pre-school teacher from the Mid-West; and a group of young writers fight about love and narrative style as they compete for a prestigious bursary.

Connecting each of these three stories is Sittenfeld's truthful yet merciless eye. Full of tenderness and compassion, this dazzling collection celebrates our humanity in all its pettiness and glory.


A STYLIST Best Books for Autumn title
Featured in the Sunday Times Guide to Culture


Praise for CURTIS SITTENFELD:

'You won't want these stories to end' REESE WITHERSPOON
'Perfect miniatures in deadpan prose' GUARDIAN
'Clear-eyed and compulsive' MAIL ON SUNDAY

  • Published: 29 September 2020
  • ISBN: 9780857527479
  • Imprint: Doubleday
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $19.99

About the author

Curtis Sittenfeld

Curtis Sittenfeld pulls no punches in her scathing and hilarious indictments of the American middle classes. Her Sunday Times bestselling novel American Wife was longlisted for the Orange Prize, as was her debut novel Prep. Her other books include The Man of My Dreams, Sisterland, Eligible, the acclaimed short story collection You Think It, I’ll Say It and her latest novel Rodham. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, Oprah Magazine and the New York Times magazine. Sittenfeld is also the guest editor for the 2020 Best American Short Stories anthology. She lives with her family in the American Mid-West. Follow her on Twitter @CSittenfeld

Also by Curtis Sittenfeld

See all

Praise for Help Yourself

Sharp yet understated, assured but self-questioning, Sittenfeld take on race, sexism and the wokerati

EVENING STANDARD

Sittenfeld is in a league of her own

OBSERVER

A potent mix of biting truths, entertainment and rigorous social observation. Sittenfeld has never been sharper

FINANCIAL TIMES

Sittenfeld has an analytical eye for the festering grudges and deep-seated disrespects of everyday life. Exceptionally sharp

SUNDAY TIMES

Short, sharp, thought-provoking. Perfect for these times

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Sittenfeld's genius lies in her ability to sneak in complex issues into superficially low-key narratives

STYLIST MAGAZINE, LOVES

Stories with a feminist perspective that fizz with intelligence, smart observation and darkly dry humour.

SPECTATOR

Sittenfeld's talent for creating characters that elicit an uneasy mix of scorn and sympathy is on full display. This author at her very best

DAILY MAIL

Combining wit and wry compassion, these stories are brilliantly entertaining

SUNDAY EXPRESS

An impeccable study of human flaws and frailties, fizzing with wit and empathy

I-Paper, Best Story Collections 2020

An impeccable study of human flaws and frailties, fizzing with wit and empathy

i-Paper: Best Story Collections 2020