A collection of short, bizarre, satirical stories that left me feeling a bit gross after. Lots of trigger warnings. Reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk in terms of disturbing narratives and social commentary. I don't know...this was a tough one to get through without cringing. The last one "Big Time" was fine...

A dark, crude, odd, satirical collection of short stories that really didn't work for me. The title story was by far the best, especially for fans of The Bachelor. I think every story made me cringe at least once. Several felt like those Saturday Night Live skits that don't quite make sense but you know the writers were laughing hysterically while working on them.

Off the bat, I want to say that this is my first time being the first reviewer for a book. I’m kinda bummed that I didn’t really vibe with this book (like, at all, lol), and that this will be the first review posted for <i>Big Time.</i> I’d urge you to take my review with a grain of salt—at least until some more reviews have been put up.

<b>What a collection of weird stories that were not, in the end, for me.</b>

Heavy-handed and crass, Big Time plows through modern-day social issues with absurd humour—from a woman who disappears for seven years to attain her dream bod, to a misogynistic snowman come to life, to breaking the fourth wall to address characters’ anti-Semitic and sexist narration. This is a collection that is exaggerated and loud and too on-the-nose with its interrogation of social themes. Despite its unsubtlety, however, <i>Big Time</i>’s all-in commitment to its campiness still made for an overall entertaining read.


Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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Bridal Body (★★★☆☆)
Hyperbolic and deadpan: an absurd story about a woman who’s desperate for the ultimate “bridal body” (“[r]ock-hard abs, chiseled triceps, and hollowed-out clavicles for miles”).

The story is a little heavy-handed, a lot crude. I’m not sure the humour was for me, but I found it decently entertaining.


The First Influencer (★★★½☆)
Okay, the preposterousness of this one worked for me. 😂😂 “The First Influencer” follows, literally, the first influencer—a cavewoman named Oola who peddles dandelion flat-belly tea and has her own cave-painting #ads. Fellow cavewomen Grooga and Crooga play out storylines we of the Instagram age are more than familiar with: one finds herself swayed by Oola's charismatic fads, while the other is skeptical as hell.

Side plots include an absurd satirization of (prehistoric) rape culture.

TW: casual mention of rape


The Snowman (★★☆☆☆)
Sarcasm positively DRIPS from this one. Elijah Honeycutt has just made a sentient, magical snowman—a snowman who chain-smokes, steals from corner stores, (view spoiler), and harasses his ex. Elijah’s canned holiday cheer cannot be diminished, however!

There just wasn’t much substance to this one for me, personally.


Dinner at Eight (★★★☆☆)
The setup seems like every gothic Clue-esque mystery ever, with the added bonus of an outrageously anti-Semitic narrator whose inner monologue spurs the others to break character in a very meta manner.

Dissatisfied with the intolerance of this initial narrator, an unnamed voice commands each character take their turns at the narrative helm, including a misogynistic colonel and the politically correct Miss Hadley. The satirization of each character and their stereotypes made for a story that was, again, too on-the-nose (the didactic was HEAVY with this one) but nonetheless enjoyable.


Birthday Girl (★☆☆☆☆)
This one was going SO WELL—until it went up in dumpster-fire flames. I was fully prepared to give it four stars, but its iffy portrayal of fat characters, random and unexpected rape scene, and hot mess of an ending utterly soured this one for me.

TW: casual mention of rape


My Dearest Caroline (★★★☆☆)
A Civil War soldier writes one-sidedly to his wife, Caroline, in this crass epistolary story. It’s really short; I was entertained by Abraham’s hot-and-cold bouncing between confessing all the trash things he’s done and taking them back via blustering, farfetched excuses.


The Adventure of the Mistaken Right Swipe (★★★☆☆)
What happens when you swipe right on Sherlock Holmes? This story delves into the ill-fated relationship that ensues.


Monster Goo (★☆☆☆☆)
There was something so contrived about the narration in this one that totally prevented me from getting into it. Zack’s a basketball lover whose little sister, Meezy, invents wacky things in their basement—including a monster goo that turns Zack into a fifty-foot version of himself.

Weeeeeird and not a fan of this one. 😅


One Thousand and One Nights (★★☆☆☆)
Like with “The First Influencer,” this story is a mashup of twenty-first century pop culture and historical fiction, modern memes in a far-off setting—in this case, a retelling of the famous story of the same name.


First Kid, Second Kid (★★★☆☆)
As the narrator goes to visit [her?] estranged 18-year-old daughter, she reflects on all the ways she may have treated her two daughters differently over the years. This one was pretty funny if more than a little depressing!


The Boyfriend Identity (★★★☆☆)
They ask him who he is, what he does for work, what kind of trouble he’s in—but the man is at a loss. He has no idea about any of it, not even his name. Only one thing is crystal clear to everyone: this man possesses advanced boyfriend skills.

In a collection filled with absurd stories, this one still somehow manages to top the list: the notion of a perfect boyfriend. The quote I pulled made me guffaw, and I enjoyed this story (even if I did find the substance a teeny bit lacking).


The Secret Meeting of the Women’s Club (unrated)
I stand corrected—this one is by far the most absurd. In this story, we are privy to a meeting between famous and celebrated women plotting to take over the world—Jane Fonda moderates, Michelle Obama keeps the peace, Malala designs a computer virus to mesmerize all men, while newcomer Selena Gomez attends her first Secret Meeting of the

Oh yeah, and every woman has a monster penis.

This was funny, sure, but I feel a smidge weird about the whole thing (I swear I keep saying weird, but that’s just the prevailing aura here). And before you go there—no, I’m not saying “misandry” whatsoever; Secret Meeting is clearly a hyperbolic parody. I just don’t personally vibe with putting words into these real women’s mouths.


The Tale of Mr. Mittlebury, Millennial Pig (★★☆☆☆)
At this point, I’m having a hard time disentangling the individual stories from my overall impression of the collection, which is kinda squicky and weird and not in a good way for me. 😂 So maybe I would’ve given this story—about a pig who suffers from many issues that plague millennial men, including crushing student debt and compulsive masturbation as a coping mechanism—three stars in another life, but here we are.


Big Time (★★★½☆)
A good one-fourth of the entire book is taken up by its eponymous story, Big Time. If a crankier, politically incorrect version of Evelyn Hugo—Golden Age starlet status and all—time-traveled to 2021, you would get Big Time. Ruby Russell has such a distinctly crass voice, getting to be part of her navigating-the-twenty-first-century journey was HILARIOUS.

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AVERAGE RATING: 2.5 stars

Jen Spyra knows how to write a story that will hurt you - in the best way possible. Let's put it this way, the snowman story made me laugh so hard that I cried. I cried big fat tears because the idea of a not so child friendly snowman really got me.

While the into by Stephen Colbert is nice - it's not necessarily needed. The opening story about a bride on a mission is more than enough of a reason to pick this up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Spyra is a former writer for Colbert and Stephen writes a foreword, which is about the best comedy endorsement you can get. There are some really, really funny pieces in here. There is an essay depicting a secret meeting of the world's most powerful women plotting a takeover that is outstanding. A couple pieces go on a little long, but this is a really terrific book.

This was OK for me. Spyra is obviously talented. However, I am generally not a big fan of sarcasm, satire, or crassness, and there is a fair amount here. This may appeal mostly to younger readers, but I'm not sure why I think that. This will resonate with a lot of readers.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

What a freaking page turner. Book had me guessing from page to page and I never wanted to put it down. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The queen of satire. The empress of sarcasm. May she take a bow. Worth her weight in gold she is.
These short stories were undoubtedly a guilty pleasure. Give it a shot. I smirked through the whole book. And Stephen Colbert is kinda funny, too.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House, and Jen Spyra for an ARC in return for an honest review.