Jenny and the Jaws of Life: Short Stories

I was never a big fan of short story collections until I picked up Jenny and the Jaws of Life. It's quickly become one of my favorite books of all time (right up there with A Widow for One Year and Mother Night). The stories in it are dark, bizarre and funny. I liked it so much I bought two copies. After I lent out the first and it was never returned I was more careful. But now the second one's lost as well. I wanted to read the stories again, so I recently bought three copies; two for lending, one for keeping (just to be on the safe side).

What I got out of it was a cynical look at life and death, and how people react to them. My favorite, "Resume," is a man talking to God as his wife dies, but bargaining for his own life as per his weasley persona. Another is written completely in the format of an advice column, showcasing the empty lives of its readers. The most well rounded story is "The Jaws Of Life" about a guy trying to recapture lost youth through adultery. This collection, errantly marketed as hilarious, blows away any short story book I read in college. It throws you curves, doesn't end the way you expect. It ends the way the character may end in real life. By changing or not changing, by having something unexpected and unexplainable occur, such as a car accident or cancer. You get the feeling that these are real people instead of archetypes following thier character arc. Every writer should aspire to this level. Can't wait to read her new book.

I was blown away at these short stories. They are almost indescribable, I couldn't help feeling thru reading several of the stories that I was literally reading someone losing thier mind. I'm not saying the stories are garbled or unclear, very far from it. The author brings a mental picture into sharp focus and does it in a subtle way. Another reccomendation is these books by Banana Yoshimoto..."Lizard" or "Kitchen" . In ways her writings remind me of Jincy Willet though on a diffrent scale.Check them out!

I tracked down this book after I saw an interview with author David Sedaris where he recommended it. It was well worth the long struggle to find it. If you like writers like Sedaris and A. M. Homes, you will thoroughly enjoy this amazing book of wonderfully crafted short stories.

Do not ignore this book just because you have not heard of the author. Jincy Willett is a writer of prodigious talent. In the same vein as Joseph Heller. The only tragedy is that we have not seen more from this superb author