Games and Rituals: Stories

One of Oprah Daily's Best Short-Story Collections of 2023One of Lit Hub’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2023”One of Kirkus's “100 Best Fiction Books”"I already loved Katherine Heiny, but this exquisite collection of short stories puts her firmly in my top ten favourite writers of all time. Her ability to throw a character into three fully-alive dimensions within half a paragraph is astounding and possibly unparalleled. I wanted every story to be continued into a long-form novel and parts of my heart are still scattered throughout these perfectly rendered tales of quirks and foibles, damage and redemption and the things people do just to make it through another day. This book, and the people within its pages, will stay with me forever."—Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Then She Was Gone"Each story here is a jewel of wit and insight. . . .  Hilarious, yes. But always with an unexpected punch to the soul."—Oprah Daily“Witty, astute and delightfully accessible. . . . Heiny specialises in characters who display an almost nihilistic determination to take nothing too seriously. They will lie casually, betraying loved ones at the drop of a hat. Others, however—usually victims of the former—display such sweetness and vulnerability, such wholesome devotion to truth and gentleness, that a sense of existential balance emerges; life might be appalling, but it’s also delightful. The prose is laid-back, but with an uncompromising eye for the absurdity of human relationships, not least when it comes to bodies and sex.” —Times (UK)“The opportunity to read a new short story by Katherine Heiny always fills me with delight. I know I’m going to laugh; I know I’m going to be slightly shocked by a deliciously inappropriate joke or line of dialogue; I know I’m going to laugh some more; and I know I’ll probably have my heart broken just a little bit.”—Jennifer Close, Electric Literature“Much of the world spent a year or two or three enclosed with the people we were supposed to be most intimate with. It seems only natural then that the interest now would be to put those relationships under scrutiny. Heiny’s new story collection tests the limits of these relationships over and over again, challenging the institutions of family and marriage… Heiny captures the domestic tension perfectly.”—Chicago Review of Books "Heiny has the comic writer’s knack of taking a character’s idiosyncrasies (…) and making them joyfully relatable. (And she can say more in a pithy parenthesis than many writers manage in a page.) She has a genius for spinning universality out of the absurdly specific."—Guardian (UK)"[A] charming collection of stories of everything from airport bar friendships to ex-husbands to hearing aids.”—The New York Post"Heiny approaches her disarmingly charming characters with tenderness, empathy, and humor, even (perhaps, especially) when they meander outside the bounds of good behavior. Lighthearted and amusing yet deeply resonant, these stories offer sly insights about human connection and can, in the space of a single sentence, take your breath away….For Heiny fans and those just discovering her naughty, generous-spirited fiction, this collection is bound to spark considerable joy. It’s a keeper. With this irresistibly amusing, bighearted collection, Heiny again proves she is a master of the short story form."—Kirkus, starred review"Short stories sometimes leave you wanting more but each one in this collection is as satisfying as any novel… All human life is here and Heiny exposes its complexity with wit and poignancy."—Good Housekeeping"Funny and touching. . . . Heiny’s keen observations put a shine on . . . everyday comedies."—Publishers Weekly"Irreverent, properly funny, offbeat (in the best possible way) and true, this brilliant book of short stories delves — warts and all — into the midlife space, and it is irresistible. . . . Heiny’s characters punch through the pages unapologetically, but her pitch perfect narratives also deliver poignancy and depth, among the laughs."—Fran Littlewood, New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams"Finding a new book by Katherine Heiny is a like discovering a Wodehouse you haven’t read or a Raymond Chandler. You pretty much know what you are going to get and that’s the very reason your spirits perform a happy little jig as you press 'buy now' …. Superb … as near perfection as, say, Donald Trump is far from it… Heiny is habitually congratulated for writing feelgood stories, but if these pointed, satirical, emotionally ruthless takes on humanity merely made me feel good, I wouldn’t value them half as much. If you spot a new Heiny story anywhere, do email me."—Andrew Billen, The Times (UK)“Spry, compassionate and sparklingly funny, Heiny's stories are pure reading pleasure, as her flawed, lovable characters find themselves at the mercy of life's mischievous twists and heart-breaking turns.”—Daily Mail (UK)"Poignant and searching." —Booklist "Games and Rituals, full of relatably weird characters discovering their self-deceptions, proves [Heiny] to be the most pleasurable architect of the short story form writing today." —The Independent (UK; US edition)“Heiny keeps a fine and appreciated balance in her exploration of human foibles ripe with the humorous, cringy, self-compromising situations life presents . . . showing that life is awkward and is also strangely sweet and can offer little moments of reprieve, joy, and camaraderie, sometimes in the places and people we least expect. . .  Honest stories generous in their portrayal of how all are just trying to connect.”—Library Journal“Games and Rituals tells unconventional love stories in a gifted and versatile comedic mode.”—Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)"Heiny has an amazing ability to give you a picture of someone’s life in a snatch of dialogue and an anecdote. . . . She picks out the patterns and details – the games and rituals of the title – that show our shared humanity. . . . [A] very funny collection, with . . . razor-sharp observations on life." —iNews (UK)“A delightful bundle of offbeat dramedy fiction. . . . great for on-the-go, stop-and-start reading when you need a little oomph in your day.” —Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)“. . . a delightful bundle of offbeat dramedy fiction. Heiny takes universal topics . . . and puts a humorous slant on them.” —Daily Herald