Here is my overdue review of Wifeshopping by Steven Wingate
I had the pleasure of meeting Steven Wingate a couple of months ago. I discovered him on Goodreads.com, visited his website, and read several intriguing online reviews of his new book, Wifeshopping. A few weeks later RW and I attended his reading at the Tattered Cover bookstore. He was very cool, down-to-earth, and engaging; Mr.Wingate has a genuine passion for fiction that made me want to rush home and start writing. I felt inspired to explore my most neurotic, vulnerable and darkest romantic longings.
Wifeshopping is an award winning collection of stories that is completely captivating and totally devastating. Devastating because so many of the protagonist here are guys I've known or guys I relate with. All the stories are top notch, and Wingate does an amazing job of capturing the uncertainty and inner workings of relationships without being cheesy or predictable. The endings of his stories are not always wrapped up neatly, he adventurously leaves the readers and characters with room to breathe (but not in a way that seems incomplete).
It's hard to say which of these stories I liked best, but Me and Paul stands out, as does Faster and In Flagstaff. These stories made me feel happy, sad, aggravated... they filled my head with countless visions of beauty and daydreams of romantic yearnings, but most of all it made me want to write and find more books like this that inspire and excite.
A great read and highly recommended!
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