An entertaining collection of 10 short stories by one of the most enchanting authors around. Maggie Shipstead has such s beautiful way of telling a story. Her demonstration of the English language is superb. I won’t say I loved every story within this collection but they are definitely worth reading.

*Special thanks to Net Galley and Knopf Publishing Group for an e-arc of this novel.*

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The problem with a book of short stories is that you don’t really know what the stories are about and whether they will be of interest to you. The wonderful thing about a book of short stories is that the stories are perfect for those times when you have a short attention span or trouble focusing. So this book was perfect for me. I read about half of the stories and did not finish the other half. Unfortunately, if there was a theme running throughout the book I was unable to find it because of this. I give it three stars because the stories I read were good.

An immersive, complex collection of fiction that kept me engaged from one story to the next. The characters are full of depth; they struggle with greed, envy, love and loss like the best of us. Shipstead transports readers from the backcountry on horseback to the French underground tunnel system to an island collecting dried guana. Her attention to detail that her readers have come to crave and expect is what sets this collection apart.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 17, 2022

Shipstead’s novel The Great Circle was phenomenal and this collection of short stories is equally as gripping. Difficult to do consistently—each of these is immediately engrossing, yet teetering on the edge of depravity. These short stories are truly standalone tales, with nothing connecting them together aside from a collection of complex, unlikeable characters…yet you can’t seem to look away from them. Skip this one if you’re looking for a light read!

This is a collection of short stories. I thought the title sounded really interesting. The first story was really good but from there they were all over the place. I didn’t really care for any of the other characters. It’s just a strange collection of stories. Some may like this book but it just wasn’t one of my favorites
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I loved Maggie Shipstead’s The Great Circle, but I did not love this. Short story collections can be a difficult beast, and they always seem to be better when there’s some thread of connection between them, whether it’s a place, a person, an event or even some shared culture or beliefs. This is a collection written over the course of ten years and it feels like it; there really isn’t anything that unites the stories together. Most of them felt very weird, and casual in the way the characters regarded each other. The first story, of a woman working on a ranch of a man in love with her was probably the most enjoyable. Many had protagonists that seemed very self-centered, and out of touch with what is reality for most normal people. Maybe this works in a full length novel when the author can develop a backstory that makes them more sympathetic, or at the very least more understandable to the reader, but these stories don’t have the space for it, so we are left with a Hollywood father with entitled daughters, a novelist who eviscerates a fellow writer for rejecting him, a starlet pulled into a cult, Olympic athletes having an affair during the games, or women abandoned by men on an island full of poisonous crabs. The writing isn’t bad, but the subject matter wasn’t enjoyable for me. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Generally, I don't gravitate towards short stories, but I jumped at the chance to read this collection by Maggie Shipstead. This collection was well-written, thought-provoking, and creative. They ranged from Victorian to Modern day and took place around the world. The characters were complex and interesting. I cannot wait to recommend it to readers because there is something here for everyone!

Maggie Shipstead opens a world of thought provoking and humorous stories in ‘You Have a Friend in 10A.’
In ten well written stories the reader travels from the Victorian Age to the present and from a retreat in Ireland to a dude ranch. We meet the complexities of relationships, personal failures, trials, jubilation, artists, writers, honeymooners and in some instances, feel a familiarity with the emotions of the characters.
There is a tangibility to the writing which is evident in every story. It is not bold or brash but seeps through just enough to take hold.
A recommended read with thanks to NetGalley, Maggie Shipstead and Knopf Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel awful putting a negative review for a book that I was so excited to have the chance to read. I am a big fan of Great Circle and have passed copies along to friends, but this short story collection was not for me. I found it mostly dark, depressing, and slow. I thought the first story was ok, but I felt myself forcing my way through the rest (one story was about a guy who was really tough to like, one was about a shitty Dad who seemed to view his daughter(s) inappropriately). It's been a long two years, so fair or not, I'm looking for mor levity right now. If Maggie Shipstead writes another novel with strong female characters I will not hesitate to read it. She is a strong writer, this collection was just nit for me.

** A copy of You Have A Friend in 10A was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

As with most collections, I loved some stories and was indifferent to others. One thing is clear though: Maggie Shipstead writes beautifully, even if/when a lot of her characters are flawed and deeply unlikeable.

This is a collection of 10 short stories...with the common theme/subject among them having to do with loss, or endings. The book description that I'd read used the words 'hilarious, humor, wit, gripping'.....but I honestly wouldn't say that I'd gotten any of that out of any of the stories? I guess I'd describe the stories as having a more odd bend to them, more dark than light & rather more serious than hilarious. Most of the stories were pretty easily readable, but I wouldn't describe any as 'gripping.'
I received this e-book from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via NetGalley, in exchange for reading it & providing my own fair/honest review.

I was excited to be invited to review this NetGalley since I enjoyed Maggie Shipstead’s Astonish Me (a lot) and Great Circle (average). I didn’t realize when I started that it was stories. As a result, I was disappointed when, having finished the first one and loved it, that the second chapter was onto something new that I loved far less. I am a chronic short story critic; it’s rare I find an anthology that keeps me equally engaged from beginning to end. You Have a Friend in 10A provided my personal typical short story experience: the ones I liked I wanted more of, and the rest I could have easily done without. This is my fourth Shipstead book and my ratings have been all over the place. Would I read her again? Yes. Would I read her short stories again? No.

Thanks again for the ARC. If you’re a short story fan, you may get more from this than me.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Thank you for this ARC! I am hit or miss with short stories but these were a hit! The characters in these stories have such depth and they are all interesting and engaging to read about. There is a lot of diversity in the stories, too. I think I need to go back and read Great Circle now!

Some of these stories are totally genius. Others just felt like excerpts from larger novels, which I guess they could be potentially, but that's not really the point of the short story. I really did enjoy this collection. I look forward to reading the author's novels, however.

My rating: 3.5/5

“You Have a Friend in 10A” by Maggie Shipstead is a collection of ten very well-written, thought-provoking short stories.

In "The Cowboy Tango", the story revolves around the complicated love triangle between the owner of a dude ranch in Montana, his female employee and his nephew. In “Acknowledgements", a writer, on the cusp of the publication of his first book, sits and reflects over his experiences with writing beginning from his childhood school assignment to the unpleasant experiences he had while as a student in a writers’ program. “Souterrain” takes us to Paris where a man’s questions over his paternity lead to an unfortunate outcome. In “Angel Lust”, a successful studio executive unpacks more than he could have imagined while sorting through his late father’s belongings. In "La Moretta", we meet a newly married couple on their honeymoon in Europe, a trip that does not go as planned. “In the Olympic Village”, two athletes indulge in a one–night stand. In the title story, a former actress on a flight reflects on her experiences with a cult-like Church and her broken marriage to a high-profile celebrity who was a member of the same. We meet a group of people on an artists’ retreat in Ireland in “Lambs” who witness a flock of sheep being transported for slaughter, which inspires the reflections on life and mortality.“The Great Central Pacific Guano Company” takes us to an island where a group of workers is stationed with their families working for a guano company while fighting the isolation, disease and discord that prevails. “Backcountry” focusses on a woman now married to a philandering husband reflecting on her past relationship with a married man.

I have admired Maggie Shipstead’s writing ever since I read Great Circle which was a favorite of mine last year. The ten short stories in "You Have a Friend in 10A” are wide in scope and varied in subject matter. The stories are introspective and immersive and the characters are complex and flawed, and thus very real, even if a few of them are not particularly likable. Overall, this was an interesting read and as for most short story collections, this is a mixed bag and though you may not like all the stories a few will stand out for you. My personal favorites were “The Cowboy Tango”, “Souterrain”, ” La Moretta” and “You Have a Friend in 10A”.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Shipstead is in a class all to herself. Her writing surprises me with its beauty, poignancy, cutting imagery, and brilliance.

I don't usually care for short stories. However, hearing Shipstead had written a collection, I figured I should give them a try. Rather than passing briefly through, these stories have lodged themselves in my mind for the long haul. I honestly can't wait to purchase my own copy when it's released so I can reread them with a book club and talk about them. There are so many layers! These are stories in which you may feel a certain way reading them in your 20's, and then they strike you in the gut totally differently in mid-life.

I'm so glad I read these, and I can't wait to see what Shipstead does next.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy. These views are entirely my own.

One of my favorite 2021 books was Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle. When the publisher offered me her book of short stories I was glad to dive into them.

Relationships are hard. Lovers, parents, children—they send us soaring and they break our hearts. But as a character says in the title story, “My mother says it’s wrong to think we’re entitled to avoid bad feelings. She says they’re part of the price we pay for living.”

The stories represent Shipstead’s progress as a writer in process. The first story, The Cowboy Tango, to me felt most like her novel. A teenager shows up at a dude ranch looking for work. The boss falls in love with her, and after ten years makes his move. But the girl is more interested in his nephew who breezes in and out of her life.

The stories are diverse. The bitter narrator in Acknowledgements is a writer from Up North “Michigan’s bemittened middle finger” whose story will resonate with aspiring writers. A woman tries to untangle the mystery of her paternal origin. Honeymooners realize their mistake. Two athletes have a one night stand at the Olympics. A actress is haunted by her past asks to speak to a naval officer on the plane who is in charge of the remains of seaman. An artist in residence sees lambs taken for slaughter and wonder if it’s better to know or not to know one is to die. Expats working for a guano company are abandoned and a man rises to abusive power. “I’m afraid we don’t get to choose what haunts us,” a therapist notes. The last line of the last story concludes, “She should have understood that even a life lived properly, lived better than she was living, could bring so much grief.”

I enjoyed each story.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Lots of range in these stories, and what beautiful writing! "Souterrain" and "Angel Lust" were absolute standouts that will undoubtedly stay with me. Not all hits, but when these were good they were GOOD.

I enjoyed this stories a lot, they show how people can cope and deal with even the most terrible things in life. It was sort of life affirming: