Funny, sad short stories about almost ordinary people dealing with shortcomings and mistakes. ( )

I loved all these stories, with points of view ranging from awkward adolescents to lonely divorcees to even lonelier retirees. If I were still teaching English, I would use "The Test Taker" in an English or creative writing class. Excellent work. ( )

Favorites -- Kiddie Pool, Test Taker and All-Night Party.

Also makes me regret every decision that didn't lead to a good outcome during those blessed years of naivety. ( )

Received this through Goodreads' First Reads giveaway! THANK YOU!

I had an interest in this book after reading Perotta's 'The Leftovers' for my post-apocalyptic book club. There's nothing apocalyptic here, but Perotta's stories are all about social entropy.

I actually feel that most of these stories work even better than 'The Leftovers' which features an ensemble cast and many situations. The short stories here each focus on one situation, and that tight focus intensifies the experience.

Suburbia and high-school figure prominently in these stories - nothing flashy or exotic, or even that dramatic - but Perotta describes the difficulty of being an individual trying to navigate through life, and captures the tragedies of ordinary lives.

Contents:
Backrub - A teen boy has unpleasant encounters with a local cop.
Grade My Teacher - A teacher confronts the student who gave her a bad write-up online.
The Smile on Happy Chang's Face - Conflict at Little League, and conflict at home.
Kiddie Pool - A man breaks into a deceased neighbor's garage and confronts both memories and revelations.
Nine Inches - A school dance chaperone confronts his own feelings and the life choices he's made.
Senior Season - An injured football player adjusts (or fails to adjust) to his new status, and finally meets his elderly neighbor.
One-Four-Five - A divorcé gets back into playing rock guitar.
The Chosen Girl - A lonely old woman becomes obsessed with a young girl in her neighborhood, who seems neglected, and in a member of a religious cult.
The Test-Taker - A boy who's getting paid to take the SAT for other students is assigned to take the test for one of his own classmates.
The All-Night Party - A high-school party chaperone has to work alongside a cop she has a grudge against for the evening.

There's a lot more to all of these stories than my little aide-memoire summaries above... Perotta is truly a masterful writer.
( )

Perrotta, Tom
Nine Inches

Short Stories
Tom Perrotta's latest collection of stories, Nine Inches, is rife with my kind of action. People see, hear, think, and sometimes even walk and talk at the same time. You can't wait to find out what isn't going to happen next. Being transported into the mind of the protagonist wrestling with his/her dilemma is enough to keep the pages turning. If you're worried that the action in these stories may be too subtle for you, there is almost always a revelation at the end. Satisfaction guaranteed. I was recently reading More Baths Less Talking, by Nick Hornby, and discovered that Hornby is also a fan of Perrotta — and for the same reasons that I am!
Recommended April 2015