This collection of stories is full of razor-sharp writing and smart observations. It’s sometimes hard to review story collections but this one actually felt cohesive in its depictions of toxic masculinity and things left unsaid. We drop in on these variously medicated protagonists doggedly living through the small calamities of their lives. The overall effect is entertaining in the moment but fleeting in the aftermath – these stories didn’t stick with me the way I expected them to, they ultimately lacked some kind of depth. I continue to be excited about Cline regardless and look forward to what she does next.

This book was filled with short stories that I had a hard time getting into. I was disappointed that I had a hard time keeping interest. I just felt like this wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley for an early release for an honest review.

Each story drops us into a moment of a person's life, not necessarily the event that shapes them forever but enough that we get a sense of who they are. If you are looking for intricately plotted out stories you won't find them here. Instead, these are very moody character-driven vignettes. Poor communication between people leads to the simmer conflicts that we often don't get a resolution for. I personally love this type of ambiguity in my short stories and I really enjoyed what Cline was doing. There's a sadness and sense of personal disappointment in the characters that thematically links each story,

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would. Some of the stories just made me feel like I was left hanging when they ended and others had me contemplating what what I was supposed to take away from them (but not in a good way, more like I was trying to justify the time I'd spent reading them). I like Emma Cline's writing style, though, and will still read her future work.

Emma Cline’s debut novel, The Girls, was the talk of my friend circle for a couple of months. It seems like everyone I knew, regardless of their typical reading habits, had at least taken a chance with the story. Her writing style that I loved from the novel is consistent in this new book, a collection of ten short stories. I typically don’t read a lot of short stories- I tend to be left wanting more- more plot, more about the characters, more resolution. Many of these short stories did the same- I wanted to know more! Others seemed to be the perfect amount of time spent peeking into the characters’ lives.

Scattered throughout all the stories were bits of nostalgia, themes of living in the shadow of one’s glory days, throwbacks to simpler times. The slices of everyday life weren’t necessarily super dark or depressing, more like they had a hint of melancholy. I think the September 1st release date is the perfect choice- this will be a great read cozied up with a warm drink and hints of fall around. If you like to escape a bit into yourself like I do, you’ll enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing and the author for my copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I am having troubles writing this review. I really enjoyed Cline’s debut novel and thought I would adore this – I thought her writing style (vague, filled with weird metaphors) that worked well for me in novel form would work even better in the short format; this, however, was really not the case. I found this disappointingly and surprisingly bad. The prose was clumsy, filled to the absolute brim with unecessary commas, and the stories felt unfocussed, as if the interesting stuff was happening just off page.

The stories, as the title alludes to, often feature father figures – and most of those were horrible. This could have worked for me as I often enjoy difficult characters in fiction but here I did not find them drawn vividly enough (or too vividly, having them remain vague might have worked better for me). The stories are, without exception very grim in a way that felt hopeless to me.

I did not get on with this at all.

The book Daddy (Emma Cline) is a collection of short stories. I do a lot of early reading and giving reviews. Because of this I am occasionally "invited" to read a book, as I was with Daddy. I just couldn't "connect" with any of these stories. To me, none of them had much of a plot. I would give it 2 and 1/2 stars, so I will up it to 3. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for my early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Emma Cline's voice, it's very fresh and necessary in the literary world. I was very excited to see what her short story collection would entail and I was not disappointed. Cline's ability to take me back to being a young woman in her late teens, early 20's is pretty amazing. She writes women as raw, complicated, unfiltered, fallible and real. This is what is missing from much of the modern landscapes literary fiction and I'm here for everything that Cline will write.

One of the reasons to read a collection of short stories is to see how an author flexes their skills and abilities. Emma Cline's THE GIRLS introduced us to her skillful ability to pull the reader into the story and make the characters and their actions "real". So, was that a fluke? No. Ten stories with a central theme to explore give us a broad look at life lived with less than happily ever after results. Ms Cline's stories have the depth of feelings sometimes left best unexplored but always human in their moment. These stories are not for everyone. While short, they will cause you to think. Read each individually and you'll enjoy them as a glimpse into a world most of us never see.

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC! This book will be published on Tuesday September 1 2020.

After reading and loving The Girls a few years ago, I was excited to read something new from Emma Cline. Unfortunately, Daddy: Stories missed the mark for me. Several of the stories intrigued me at first, including “What Can You Do with a General” and “Northeast Regional,” but ultimately the only one I actually enjoyed was “Marion.” For me, “Marion” captured everything that I loved about The Girls: superb writing and characterization, grittiness, and the trials of female adolescence.

The entire collection does display a number of Cline’s strengths. She’s an excellent writer and she does a great job developing her characters in each story. The stories mostly deal with rather unlikable characters, which is fine by me but won’t be for everyone, and they all find themselves in difficult and uncomfortable situations. Everything about these stories felt real. The situations are things that happen all the time in real life. A boy commits an act of violence against a classmate. A father is abusive to his family and it makes for awkward holiday celebrations. A girl desperate for money ends up encountering someone dangerous. The characters are real people who you could easily come across out in the world. Cline does a marvelous job capturing this.

My biggest issue is that all of the stories dance around the main point without ever truly coming to it. “What Can You Do with a General” and “Northeast Regional” have tension building throughout, but nothing ever comes of it. Cline hides major details, which caused me to feel like I never knew quite what was going on. And ultimately, nothing seemed to happen in the stories. They never come to a point or resolution. We are just left in the middle of all the tension. I also felt that the majority of the stories were forgettable. The only one that truly stands out in my mind is “Marion.” Flipping through the table of contents, there are several that I don’t remember anything about.

Overall, this collection wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it. These short stories showcase Cline’s wonderful writing and character development skills, and I think Marion is definitely a story worth checking out.

The collection of short stories in Daddy show a reflection of what the human experience is and can be. Each character's story seemed to be happening to them, as though they were adrift in the ocean with barely functional steering capabilities, and yet I found myself empathizing with their efforts to maintain a concept of self and direction. These are not tales that have a nice moral at the end, or a happy-ever-after; they're judgement-free glimpses into lives full of choices. I finished this book feeling simultaneously dissatisfied and enlarged.

Language: Moderate (multiples uses of the f word, occasional other profanities)
Drugs: High (recreational drug and alcohol use, youth smoking, addiction, prescription drug abuse)
Sex: High (nudity, teen pregnancy, extramarital affairs, pubescent sexual awareness)
Violence: Mild (implied domestic abuse, bullying)

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

I simply could not get into these short stories. Part of it is the genre- I am looking for more, more of a story, more character development, etc. Each and every one of the stories left me wondering- is that it?

Yes, there are glimpses into the human condition, but I wanted more than Cline gave.

While usually not a fan of short stories, I took a chance on this because I think the author is brilliant. I was not disappointed. Warning though, while involving the film industry in California, they're not a fairy tale type.

More realistic life, which let's face it, can be pretty depressing. Maybe read a little at a time.

Highly recommend.
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I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I really enjoyed this one and I will be recommending it to family and friends

A short story collection from the author of 'The Girls'. None of the stories are intertwined, yet each has its own place. Most take place in the LA area, and many involve the deeds- and misdeeds- of film industry luminaries. There doesn't seem to be a satisfying conclusion to any of the stories, although they were interesting during the reading of them.

<i>Daddy: Stories</i> is Emma Cline's follow up work to her well-received debut novel <i>The Girls</i>. This tightly packed short story collection features 10 stories that center on the small (and sometimes quite large) failures of men.

Cline is a great story teller, and her strength seems to be in short stories. Each one is vivid and unsettling. At times the stories are almost painful to read because the characters are so trapped in their paths to self-destruction. Of the 10 stories "Marion" is the most engaging.

So why the three stars? There's no denying that Cline is so talented, and she knows how to create deeply flawed and unsettling characters, but I've realized that I'm just not a fan of her style for reasons I just can't put my finger on.

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of this work.

Emma Cline's strong writing shines through in these short stories. While some were more compelling than others, the power dynamics explored throughout were all incredibly interesting.

I liked The Girls, and have been interested in some of the short stories Emma Cline has written, so I was excited to see this pop up in my feed. Netgalley gave me access to an ARC, so I spent the weekend reading this one. It wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be. Every single story seemed to be a retelling of the one before it, and after awhile each one became tedious and predictable. Looking back, each story seemed to be the first draft, of a first chapter of a larger novel.

The good news is that there is definitely a feeling invoked in these stories. There's a languid, California ennui sadness in each of these stories, almost like Tennessee Williams, if he went to the West Coast. There's a grime over these characters that gives a certain depth to this collection as a whole, even if the stories aren't individualized enough to stand out on their own. There's a truth to their world, even if all the stories blur together in the end. I can talk about that feeling for this book, but I can't talk about each story because they were so much the same that I've mostly forgotten them, even though I only finished this two days ago. Not a one stands out in my mind.

I hope Emma Cline puts out a novel soon, since I think that is where she is strongest as a writer.

DADDY is a well-done short story collection by a clearly talented author. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Girls, Emma Cline's well-regarded novel from a few years back. So many of these stories end abruptly; I don't mind that for a few here and there, but this felt like one after another. Also, the tone is quite bleak as the characters come across as dysfunctional and disillusioned. Again, some variety would have been nice. That being said, the characters are complex and Cline portrays them expertly on the page, even in short spaces. Her writing is superb. Perhaps the best way to enjoy this collection is as a "slow but steady" read, dipping in and out so as not to become depressed.

Ten enlightening glimpses into the lives of (often severely) flawed American men and women, ranging from entire families to failed men who’ve been ousted by society. Looking forward to picking up a hard copy upon its release and rereading each passage for a second take to find things I didn’t find before.