After devouring THE GIRLS, I was very interested in reading Emma Cline's debut short story collection. DADDY is a dark, interesting collection about power dynamics and relationships. I felt some of the character descriptions here were intriguing, but maybe the short format didn't quite allow for the same kind of payoff as Cline's novel-length work.

dnf but i'm rating the three stories i did read

literary fiction bores me so bad, i thought i would try it anyway, but this was published over six months ago and i am not going to pick it up again.

i read the first three stories, and i did actually like los angeles, but i didn't care about what can you do with a general and menlo park.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing my review copy

Emma Cline is back with ten stories, exploring characters who are straddling thin lines, and finding themselves. In true Emma Cline fashion, her characters are looking for connection, and finding it in all the wrong places and people. Complex and interesting, Cline's collection doesn't disappoint. Well read slowly, in the mornings, over a cup of coffee - to be relished, not sped through.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for advance access to this title!

I really enjoyed this book along with all the Emma Cline Books! This book was generously provided to me through NetGalley. Highly Recommended!

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

Much like the title of the collection, these stories have a tongue-in-cheek veneer that doesn't go any deeper. They're 'shocking' only in the sense that they present you with morally bankrupt characters you may not normally read about. However, these characters rarely learn anything or even contemplate things beyond how they're seen by others, what their lives should be like vs. what they are, and other vain topics. I'm all for reading about unlikeable characters when they seem to be on a journey to uncover something or make a statement. These stories don't really say anything.

As bummed as I am that I didn't gel with this collection, Cline is a skilled writer and I liked The Girls enough to check out whatever she does next. Hopefully she writes another novel where she can develop her characters and themes beyond a dozen or so pages.

Emma Cline is a fantastic writer - that was shown in her debut novel The Girls. In this collection of short stories, Emma is back creating dark atmospheres and SO. MUCH. dramatic tension. Each story mostly centers around a pretty, privileged woman (white woman), and her "daddy issues" with the aging, failing man in her life. There is something that is left unsaid in each story, purposely it seems, that is at the center of these relationships, that adds an overall tension while you're reading. Some of my favorites include: Arcadia, The Nanny, and Marion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting collection of short stories following the style of Emma Cline. I did like this book more than expected but also found myself wanting more. Some of the stories felt me left wondering what happened next.

A good sample of Emma Cline's style, and motivation to read one of her full length books.

*Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

While this definitely had Emma Cline's gorgeous writing style, this book was just weird. I can appreciate an anthology but I appreciate when the stories actually made sense and some of these stories made no sense at all to me. Not like they ended on cliffhangers, they just left out enough details to where when I was finished I didn't understand what had happened or what was going on. The only redeeming quality about this book is Emma Cline's beautiful writing, other than that I could have done without this book.

I absolutely loved The Girls by Emma Cline and had been patiently waiting for her next work to be released. I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed. Her short story writing was just as haunting and engaging as her novel writing. Each of the stories' premises were really intriguing to read. The author definitely has a strong talent for the written word and I look forward to seeing what else she has to offer.

A solid, full short story collection from an incredible writer. Each story was unique and whole, and I often was left wanting more.

Some of these stories, I did already know from the New Yorker.
A lovely connection, which feel very now. Reading these stories made me dream of being back on the West Coast. Feeling estranged. Feeling uneasy, but still smiling.

This ... was a disappointment, which makes me a little sad because I'm such a fan of Emma Cline. The first story really starts the book off slowly and it rarely picks up from there.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

I heard the first story in this collection, strangely while I was in the bath, I think it was read aloud on the NYer fiction podcast. My wife wondered what I was laughing about all alone the tub. Anyhow Cline, is a masterful story writer… I enjoyed this collection very much.

These stories were just... fine. While I do love the way Emma Cline writes, and there is something almost Carver-esque to her writing (and I do enjoy Carver), I just think that these stories did not do much. I felt like stuff happened for shock value in them, to elicit some kind of emotional response, and yet that never happened for me.

I went in expecting stories similar to The Girls, and while the same satisfyingly precise writing style prevails, Cline's subject matter is different. Like The Girls, however, Cline's ideas about power are still very prevalent. I enjoyed her ability to quickly capture the varied lives of these pages' inhabitants. She makes the seemingly mundane interesting, and that is commendable.

Each story was incisive, with precise, careful insights about the characters. I loved this even more than Cline's "The Girls."

Short stories are so hard for me. But I had really enjoyed Emma Cline's debut book, The Girls, and wanted to give this one a try. Sadly the stories just didn't work for me. I found it hard to focus on what she was writing, so I eventually started to go to each new story in hopes that one (or a couple) of them would grab my attention. None of them were working for me, unfortunately.

Daddy is a debut short story collection by author Emma Cline, who previously published the popular novel The Girls. The Girls has been on my TBR list for awhile so I jumped when I saw her new short story collection was available. Yes, I am reading the story collection before her novel so i am a little mixed up.

This collection features stories that seem to focus on the relations and interactions between various people, whether significant others or parent/child...all stories were full of sly observations and a healthy dash of cynicism. This collection is a mood. A mood where you are kind of giving the world the side-eye. Some stories spoke to me more than others, which is often the case in story collections. Overall, I enjoyed the book but wished the stories were more consistent in their appeal.

I will definitely be picking up The Girls sometime soon.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.