All the Anxious Girls on Earth

by Zsuzsi Gartner

Book Overview

This is the first collection of startlingly original stories by a new writer who promises to become a major presence in Canadian literature. At the heart of Zsuzsi Gartner's technically innovative, darkly humorous and exuberant prose is a cri de coeur for personal responsibility as the sun sets on a 20th Century in which media is omnipresent and everyone's a victim. There are no innocent bystanders here, though. A woman calls in fake bomb threats...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1552630293
• ISBN13: 9781552630297
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Key Porter Books
• Length: 199 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Biased because I like Canucks

I just re-read this book recently and felt like putting in my two cents because i just enjoyed it so much ... again. I like Gartner's style a lot. She reminds me of some of my favorite authors, but with a lighter touch. She's got the weirdness of AM Homes without the hopelessness; the edginess of Mary Gaitskill without the relentlessness. She's got the off kilter insight into human nature of Barbara Kingsolver without the granola touches. And Gartner's got the hipness of the whole "Eggars" crowd while not being self-consciously cool. Granted, there's a detached quality to Gartner's style and sometimes there's too much specific detail, but for just sheer originality, and not feeling like you have to hug a puppy to restore your faith in humanity after reading a book -- i highly recommend.

Reality and Sarcasm at its best.

I usually don't like short stories, based on the fact that they usually have to have some sort of meaning behind it. I love ZsuZsi's writing style though.I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wants to laugh

smart, roiling stories

Lots of layers in here, rumbling below. The weirdness makes it marvelous, and the language sings. It's definitely worth checking out.

Great stuff.

Please don't listen to the last reviewer. These are really exciting, interesting stories full of turns of phrase that'll just make your hair curl. The most significant thing here is "boys growing," and while nothing else quite matches up to that, this is a solid collection. Recommended for those of us who don't mind a little weirdness.